Tell Me
by BurladoresyLadrones
Summary: Oliver invites Lily on a Maine vacation. But when the two start getting a little closer, it leaves them confused about where they really stand. -Loliver- Rated T.
1. Down in Love

**A/N: Heyyyy readers. This is my first story, so be forgiving, please. This story just occurred to me one day, and who doesn't love a little Loliver? I'm rating it T for teen, more than likely for some of the later chapters. I expect this to reach about 10 or 15 chapters. Thanks for reading! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer:**No, of course I don't own Hannah Montana. I do own a mighty fine television and the word processor I'm using to type this, however. Lucky me.

Chapter 1: Down in Love

Lily smiled down at the messy-haired brunet scribbling quickly in red ink on her cast. The very same messy-haired brunet that caused her to get that cast a few weeks ago while skateboarding. She was getting it off in a few days, and was she ever thankful. It was making her arm itch like crazy.

"Why are you signing it _again_?" She asked cooly, a smile playing on her lips.

"Because it's my fault you had to get it on in the first place. I want to make sure I make up for it. Besides, so far, I've signed in just about every color but red.

Lily laughed and looked at her cast. She didn't really like letting people sign it because it tended to cause such a scene, but she had a soft spot for Oliver since he just wanted to make her feel better. Besides, it was true. There wasn't a spec of red on the cast, and it would be rude to let all the colors have a chance but one, right? She twisted her arm back and forth, reading the names:

Oliver

Miley

Oliver

Dad

Ollie

3Mom

Ollie Pop

Jackson

Oliver

And now her favorite, Donut.

"Well, we've about covered all of your nicknames, so I think it's safe for you to stop signing."

"I guess, seeing as this thing is coming off soon. When, by the way?"

"Uhm...I think my mom told me Friday after school, why do you ask?"

"Well actually, I've got something to ask you. Seeing as it's summer and all, and I'm going up to Maine to stay with my Grandma for an entire month, alone, mind you, I asked my mom if I could bring a friend along. She said it should be okay as long as I got permission from their parents, so I thought maybe you'd like to come along with me."

"Maine? I don't know Oliver. That's a really long way a away," she started to say, grinning to her ears, "And it might be expensive, and I've been doing just loads around this crazy town lately. I'd have to say...uhm...I'd freakin' love to!" She threw her arms around his neck and laughed. "Thanks so much for asking me. I'll have to ask my mom, though. When do you, or we," she said, wiggling her eyebrows, "get to leave?"

"Saturday afternoon, actually. So start packing!"

"Will do!" she shouted, jumping off Oliver's front step and running across the sun drenched street to her house.

Xxx...xxX

It was getting to be pretty dark out when Lily got home from her doctor's appointment on Friday night. She couldn't get over the pale, oxygen-deprived, but revived arm she now had. She changed out of the jeans she'd worn all day and into her pajama shorts and began pulling clothing out of her dresser, finishing her packing for Saturday.

She was walking towards the bathroom to get her toothbrush and toiletries when she came face to face with a very attractive face.

"Oliver?" she asked. _'Did I just say very attractive?"_

"Hey Lily-pad. Your mom told me I could come up and help you finish packing. 'Sthat all right with you?"

"Yeah, no problem," she spoke, stumbling back a little from him and returning to her bedroom. She began searching the tops of cabinets and closet shelves for things she might need over the month. She pulled a few headbands from a basket and a few belts off a hook. She was picking up some mascara and lip gloss when she turned around to see Oliver laughing, a pink polka-dotted bra hanging from his hand.

"I see you wear the _nice_ones! I'm surprised at you, Lily. Pink?" He was nearly on his knees with laughter when she stomped over to him and pulled it from his hand.

"Where did you get this!?" she tried to look intimidating, but she was laughing inside and knew it was showing on her face.

"It was just on top of your stuff, I swear."

"All right. You're such a pervert Oliver."

"Hey, hey. No name-calling. I was doing a service to you, anyway. How often does a young attractive man tell you he likes your underwear? Hm? I bet that doesn't happen often," he joked, but to Lily's surprise, she started to blush. _'Where did that come from?"_ she thought to herself before folding the bra and placing it back in her suitcase with the rest of the accessories she'd gathered.

"I think that's everything, actually," she breathed, dropping onto her half-made bed.

"That was fast. I'm impressed. It usually takes my mom six or seven hours to pack, I swear," he laughed, closing her suitcase sneakily.

"Hey! What did you just put in there, Oken?"

"Oken? That's cold. I didn't put anything in there, Truscott."

"Fine. But if I open my suitcase and find frogs or your boxers or something else that's gross in there, I'll probably have to kill you. I can see it now. I'll be pleasantly unpacking in an old white and robin's egg bedroom at your sweet old grandmother's house, when out of nowhere will come the ten plagues. Oh yeah, you'd better be careful."

"Jeez, you act like I'm some kind of prankster. I _never_ tease, Lily," He said, flopping down next to her on the bed, on his stomach.

"Ah! No cast I see! Impressive!" Oliver moved over towards her to examine the colorless section of her arm.

Just then Lily felt him grasp her arm between his fingers. "What are you doing?" she laughed.

"Making it feel better," he smiled at her, beginning to massage the exposed skin.

"I got the cast _off_. As in, it's better now."

"I know - I just thought it might still hurt a little."

Lily laughed and held out her arm for Oliver to keep rubbing. She felt his warm hands crawl up past her hand and her wrist, up her arm until he was massaging her shoulders. '_His hands are so - strong,'_ she thought to herself, smiling at the way his masculine fingers moved gently against the material of her T-shirt. She felt herself start to blush. _'Lily! You're killing yourself...Shut up, self. This feels so good.'_

She tried not to get too comfortable, sitting stock still on her bed. She desperately fought to keep in a moan of pleasure as he dug his knuckles into her back. _'Jeez, Oliver, who taught you to do that?'_

Just then he stopped, laughing, and moved his hands away. She turned around as if to ask why, but stopped herself and giggled. "Thanks," she mumbled somewhere between her blushing.

"No problem," Oliver half-whispered, pushing a hand through her hair, "What do you say we listen to some music?"

"Sounds good to me," Lily jumped on his words, hoping to get out of this awkward situation. She hoped he'd forget about that short-lived intimacy.

He pulled an old Ipod out of his shorts pocket and stuck one bud in his ear, handing the other to Lily. The two lay down side by side on her bed, staring up at her ceiling. He pressed the play button and closed his eyes.

"Ouch! Oliver!" Lily screamed seconds later, "What was that? Turn your volume down!"

"My volume is fine, Lily."

"You're going to go deaf! And I'd rather you not pull me down with you!" she grinned.

"Fine," he grumbled, turning down the volume with his finger, and shutting his eyes

again.

Lily smiled and mouthed a light "thanks" to Oliver before curling onto her side and drifting to sleep.

Xxx...xxX

"Lily! Oliver! Up!" came the booming voice of Mrs. Truscott an hour or two later. "I was just wondering what happened to you two and decided to come look, and I find you asleep? How are you supposed to be ready for tomorrow?"

Lily blinked and removed her head from Oliver's warm shoulder. _'How'd I wind up in this position?'_ she wondered. "Don't worry, Mom. I'm all packed."

"All right, but come downstairs now. It's time for dinner. Oliver, you're welcome to stay, if you'd like. We're having lasagna." she said, slipping out the door and padding back down the stairs.

Lily tried to sit up, but found herself trapped by a strong arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"Oh, jeez Lils, I'm sorry," Oliver blinked and sat up, removing his arm.

"Don't worry about it," she smiled uneasily. "Do you want to stay for dinner?"

"I'd better not. I still have a few things to do before we leave, if you don't mind," he said as he stood up.

"Oh, all right," she said, a little disappointed, "I'll see you in the morning then?"

"Definitely. Good night, Lily," he whispered before turning and leaving through her open window. She laughed a little at his dramatic exit. Yes, Oliver did think highly of himself. Any normal boy would use a door, but Oliver loved the window. But she didn't mind. It was almost - romantic. _'Oh Lily! What's gotten into you! He's your best friend!'_ she thought before running down the stairs.

**A/N: First chapter down. How was it? I know you can't get much of a feel for it in one chapter, but two will be up right away. Please review. **


	2. Forever

**A/N: Okay guys. Chapter two. Lily and Oliver are taking off for Maine. Getting too close, awkward situations, teenage irresponsibility, and other hilarities to ensue. Haha. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: **Nope. Not yet. Still don't own Hannah Montana.

Chapter 2: Forever

"Make sure you're getting enough to eat. You'll be very busy. And don't go to bed too late, honey!" Mrs. Truscott stood in her driveway, Lily already in the Oken's car, making sure she'd be all right, being away for a month. "You can call or write whenever you want. We want to hear from you at least once a week so we know what's going on. Do you have everything?" She was definitely rambling now.

"Yes Mom, I promise. We need to go now," she said, smiling. "I love you, Mom, Dad."

"We love you too, sweetie," Mr. Truscott said as the Oken's pulled out of her driveway and began down the road towards the airport.

The car ride was almost completely silent, not counting the radio playing old rock softly in the background. Everyone once and a while Lily and Oliver would glance at each other, but they were content in just sharing the other's company, and spent most of their time thinking or staring out the windows.

The scene changed when the got to the airport, however. People were rushing everywhere. All sorts of noises polluted the air, and there was a low-lying excitement hanging overhead. Oliver and Lily jumped into the commotion with ease. Within fifteen minutes begs were checked and Oliver was saying his final goodbyes to his parents, then the two teenagers were through the gate.

"I'm hungry. Let's get some sandwiches. Or! Oh! Do you know what's really good? Those cinnamon rolls! They always have those in airports! What do you say?"

"Oliver, jeez, slow down," Lily reprimanded, grabbing his wrist and moving off towards the food court, "Of course we can get something to eat. But we'd better hurry. Our plane boards in half an hour."

Xxx...xxX

"Enjoying your smoothie, sandwich, potato chips, cinnamon bun, coke, and the end of my salad and muffin?" Lily asked Oliver smartly, sitting across from him at a café table.

"Mmfhmm," he mumbled, which she took as a yes.

Conversation continued for a few more minutes when Oliver glanced at his watch. "Oh my gosh! Lily, I hate to be the responsible one, but the plane boards in three minutes!"

"Oliver! Why weren't we keeping track of time?" she shouted at him playfully and scooped the excess wrappers into the trash can. Oliver pulled his food into an empty pocket of his carry-on bag, and pushed his chair hard into the table.

"Let's go!" he shouted, sipping the ends of his smoothie as he grabbed Lily's free hand and began sprinting towards their gate.

It wasn't far, but that didn't stop them from earning several dirty looks from the people around them as they pushed through the traffic around them. Luckily they made it to the C68 just as the last few people were lining up. Oliver leaned up against a pole where the line ended, and Lily leaned herself against his chest, both panting, laughing at their situation. Oliver offered her a sip of his smoothie, and she dropped her bag and happily obliged.

"Under eighteen?" A flight attendant asked as she scanned their tickets and handed the stubs back to them. Lily nodded. "All right, behave, please. We'll be keeping an eye on you two, order of the airline. It's for all minors," she eyed them suspiciously before letting them enter the plane. They knew their actions were rude and irresponsible, but they were enjoying themselves.

They reached their seats in a few moments, Lily slipping in at the window and shoving her backpack beneath her haphazardly. Oliver moved in after her, glad to see they were on the two-person side of their plane, so they wouldn't have to worry about anyone else annoying or distracting them. _'Distracting us?'_ he thought to himself. What was he thinking of doing that couldn't be interrupted? He shrugged off the idea, trying to forget it.

He glanced over at Lily, who was shuffling through her purse as the plane began to move slowly forward. "Hey, you don't happen to have any gum in there, do ya?" he questioned her.

"No, why?"

"Uhm...you know...flight take off. Sometimes it makes me a little, uh, uncomfortable," he admitted sheepishly, much to Lily's delight.

"Hold on. Smokin' Oken? Afraid of take-off?" She nearly went into hysterics at the idea.

"No! No! Not afraid. I just don't like it so much, okay?" He looked away and she flashed him a wide grin, "Shut up," he mumbled, making her laugh.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine. I'll help you. I can cover your ears or something. I've heard there's a trick you can do with cups and wet paper towels, but we don't have any," she suggested.

"I think I'll be okay, Lily. I can cover my own ears," he laughed.

"No, really," she looked at him seriously, "We're about to take off, and I don't want you throwing up all over me.

As she said this the plane accelerated drastically and Oliver nodded frantically. She leaned over towards him, but was strapped down by her seatbelt. Oliver slid a hand around her waist to hold her up against him. She blushed and tried to ignore the feeling it gave her as she placed her hands hard against his ears, her face against his cheek. "Hold your breath and plug your nose with your free hand," she instructed.

"No way. I'll look ridiculous."

"We look ridiculous anyway. Can't get any better," she began to say when the plane began to lift. "Oliver, now!"

He complied, and they held their awkward position, wrapped around each other, for a good minute or so before the worst of the pressure was gone. Lily carefully moved her hands to the sides of his face and kissed his cheek tenderly. She slid back down to her own chair and Oliver removed his hand from her waist, which she was surprised to find disappointed her.

"That wasn't so bad," he mumbled.

"Sure," Lily smiled, "Which is exactly why you had that look on your face the whole way up."

"What look?" Oliver asked innocently, grinning back.

Xxx...xxX

Oliver glanced over at Lily for the fourth or fifth time since the end of their in-flight movie. "Would you stop looking at me?" Lily sad sarcastically.

Oliver gave her a lopsided smile and pulled up the window shade, glancing outside. "Are we there yet?"

"Ouch! Oliver! Close that; you're making me blind!," she shook her head, "And no, we're not there yet. I don't know why you think I'd know, but there's still at least another hour until we land."

"Oh," he looked down at his lap and fiddled with the pages of the book he'd brought along, hoping he'd be inspired enough to read. No such luck. "Well I'm bored. Let's do something fun."

"All right," she sighed, "What did you have in mind?"

"Well I dunno," he began, then suddenly his face lit up, "Oh! Remember that game we played when we were little? The one where someone would draw some crazy lines and the other would have to turn it into something? Let's do that!"

"You mean the scribble game?" she questioned, "How old are you, Oliver?" she laughed lovingly at his idea.

"No, Lily! Come on! There's nothing better to do!" he pleaded, giving her a sad and pathetic look.

"I guess..."

"Great!" He said, pulling out a pad of paper and a pencil from his bag.

"Wait," Lily stopped him. Let's make this more interesting. Whoever does the best scribbles wins something, okay?"

"Okay. What do I get when I win?" Oliver joked.

"Confident, aren't we? Well, I know your grandma wasn't expecting me, so I'm sure I'll have to sleep on some kind of cot or spare mattress. So if I win, I want your bed instead."

"Aw, Lily!" he contradicted, "Okay. Fine. But if I win, I want to take you somewhere when we get there."

"Is that all? Few, I got of lucky," she mimed wiping sweat from her forehead and gave him a joking look.

"Not so fast. I'm not going to tell you where we're going, and you may not like it. But you have to comply, okay?"

She sighed, "All right. You make the first one."

Oliver set to work with his pencil creating an impossible mess of lines and dots, hoping to make it as difficult for Lily as possible, but when he handed her the tablet, she turned her back to him and set to work, hand moving rapidly over the paper. When she turned around, she beamed at him and shoved her masterpiece beneath his nose. "It's salt and pepper shakers on a table. Ha. Bet you didn't see that one coming."

Oliver laughed, "Uh no, I didn't. Nice try though. It's almost cute. My turn."

Lily created a long gangly twist along her paper before handing it over. Oliver took it confidently from her and began.

A few minutes later, they were starting to tire of the game. Lily turned to Oliver, who was hiding whatever he was drawing, "Last one, okay?"

"All right," he said, turning to her and sheepishly parting with the tab.

Lily looked down at the picture. She couldn't remember what shape she'd drawn on the paper before, but all she saw now were the words "Best Friends" written in a kind of angular calligraphy across the paper. She sighed, "Maybe just one more," and quickly scribbled another line.

Oliver's eyes scanned the page quickly. He smiled at her and mouthed what he saw she'd written, "Forever."

**A/N: Getting into the story a little more now. Better, I hope? The next chapter should be out pretty soon since I have an irregularly short list of activities this weekend. Haha. Don't make the first-time author suffer. Please review! D**


	3. Better Than This

**A/N: Chapter Three up. I'd like to dedicate this drummer8907 for my first review ever. Thank you to my other reviewers, as well. It really makes this easier. Anyway, now we're in Portland Maine. There are some mentions of streets and harbors coming up in this chapter and in later ones. Generally, the streets, islands, harbors, etc, are all real places (thank you google earth!) But when it says "library" or "apartment" or something, I have no idea if that's what's really there. Big stuff though. So don't hate me if you know Portland and I've got it all wrong. Haha. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer:**What would make you think I would be lucky enough to own Hannah Montana?

Chapter 3: Better than This

"Oh Lily, I'm so glad you could come up here with Oliver," Mrs. Oken, Oliver's grandmother called from the front seat of her new-smelling Cadillac. Lily knew better though, and the car had to be at least four or five years old. She guessed at that age she didn't get to use it too often.

"I'm glad you're having me."

"Oliver talks about you all the time, you know," she said, smiling at Lily through the rear-view mirror. Lily elbowed Oliver in the seat next to her and laughed.

"Well she is my best friend," Oliver shot back a little defensively, but let it go easily.

"All right, this is my house," she said pulling into a concrete driveway that led to a small-sized white house. It looked very Victorian; well-kept though. Lily unbuckled her seatbelt and opened her car door. She immediately smelled the salty sea air and saw the water beneath the cloudy pale sky in the distance. It was cool and a little windy. Lily thought it was beautiful. More beautiful than the tropics with palm trees and Malibu's sunset.

There was something magical about the place. It was calm and she heard seagulls. She did a double take out towards the water, but it was too far away for her to be sure of what she heard. She wanted to lay down on the beach and take it in. Then a thought occurred to her. She hoped there was a lighthouse. That would make it so unreal.

"Lily!" Oliver called from the front step and motioned to her, "Come on."

"Oh, sorry. Coming!" she called back before running up to the door.

Lily and Oliver walked up the front stairs to the second floor to put away their things away when a though occurred to Lily. "So, where's your room, seeing as I won our scribble game?" she game him a mischievous look.

"Uhm, excuse me, but I believe I won that game," he stopped walking and turned around to face her. "But I'll tell you what. Since you tried so hard, and I would hate to see you sleep on anything less than royal, you can have my room anyway."

Lily hit him in the arm with her backpack jokingly, "Thanks, kid. I appreciate it. But I guess I could still see whatever it is you wanted to show me."

"Not now. I'll show you later. But this room is yours," he said, pointing at an open doorway. "That one's the bathroom, and this one is my door, since I took it off your hands. Actually though, the bed in here isn't too bad, " He said laughing, continuing to show the upstairs rooms to Lily. "Tell you what. You go unpack, I'll shower, and then I'll show you around town. Good?"

"Yeah, good," Lily said and shuffled back to her room. She picked up her suitcase, letting out a huff of breath as she released it, letting it fall to her bed. She unclasped the locks and threw open the top. It was an incredibly old-fashioned suitcase, but she only wanted to take one bag, and was the only one big enough. _'Besides,'_ she thought, _'It fits in with this scenery perfectly.'_

She walked across her new room and pulled open a white-painted antiqued wooden dresser drawer. It matched perfectly with the other white wood furniture and the same robin's egg blue she had predicted earlier. She began piling toiletries and accessories into the small top drawer. But when she pulled a sweatshirt off the top of the pile in her suitcase, she stopped.

Setting the sweatshirt on the bed, she leaned in to take a closer look at what was lying in her suitcase. _'A picture frame?' _she asked herself, and turned the felt-backed piece over in her hands. She recognized it instantly. It was a picture of Oliver and her about six years ago. They were ten and making pizza in the Truscott kitchen. Lily remembered it well. She smiled when she saw pizza sauce on Oliver's nose and flour trailing down her front. Oliver kept this picture in one of the scrapbooks his mom made.

'_That must have been what he snuck into my suitcase,' _she realized. He went out of his way to make sure she would remember him even when she was on vacation, spending every day with him. Somehow, the reality of it made her content, and she placed it on top of the dresser and stepped back to admire it.

Xxx...xxX

It was ten or twenty minutes later when Lily was lying face-up on her bed. _"This is pretty comfortable. Good thing I got it out of Oliver,"_ she thought to herself. She'd finished unpacking and kicked her suitcase beneath the bed just a moment ago and was now relaxing. She turned her head and stared wistfully out the window.

Just then she heard footsteps moving the old wooden floorboards. She flipped to her side quickly to see who had come in, when she saw Oliver standing in the doorway.

"Oliver! You almost gave me a heart attack!" she started to say, though couldn't figure out whether or not it had all come out like that when she'd seen that he was in a very shirtless state._'Well-toned,"_she analyzed his muscular chest for a moment before realizing what exactly she was doing.

"Enjoying the view?" Oliver asked sarcastically, grinning down on her.

"You bet," she chimed, pulling her eyes up to meet Oliver's, then looking again out the window, "The beach looks beautiful from this room."

"No fair. You know that isn't what I meant," he teased.

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Oh. You mean _that_ view," she said, moving her eyes between Oliver's chest and face, "It's all right, I guess."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "You're totally impressed and were definitely just ogling me. You should just admit it." he laughed and walked a little closer to the bed where Lily lay. "Anyway, I think you should return the favor and let me get a good view of _something_."

"Ew! Oliver! You flirt. Get out of here!" Lily waved her hands in the air and scoffed at him happily.

"No really. It's only fair after all. I'm devilishly handsome and willingly showed off my chiseled chest. I should get to see something at least as good as that!"

"Well I guess it's only fair," Lily stated and sat up on the bed. A smile tugged on the corner of her lip as she reached down and began to daintily pull off one of her socks. She looked down at her foot, pretending to admire it, then held it up for Oliver to see.

"Very funny, Lily."

"I thought so. Besides, my one foot is at least twenty times as good-looking as your bare chest. For all you're seeing, you should be naked in front of me," she stood up and decided to sit instead in the window seat.

Oliver laughed and reached for his jeans, gesturing as if he were about to remove them, but Lily stopped him.

"Just kidding!!" she shouted.

"I know, I know," Oliver mumbled sarcastically and lay down on the bed.

"Hey. I do believe that's mine," Lily protested.

Oliver took a second look at his seat, "Hm..I did say you could use it, but I don't believe my not using it was ever part of the deal," he said quizzically to her

Lily stood and pushed his shoulder, "Up. You said you'd show me the town_."_

"Guess you're right. Come on, then. There's a lot to see and it's already five. It'll be getting dark soon," he told her as he also stood to leave, but something stopped him. "Nice picture."

"Yeah," Lily blushed a little and her lips curled up a bit at the ends. She looked at her toes, "I found it today and it brought back some good memories, so I just thought I'd stick it up for fun."

"Good thinking, Lils," Oliver said, throwing a hand around her waist and walking her out of her bedroom and onto the streets of seaside Maine.

Xxx...xxX

Lily and Oliver were cruising down Shore Road in South Portland. Lily felt wind rushing through her hair and a rush of adrenaline. Mostly because she was riding a bike. Yep, that's right. Lily's smooth classy ride, courtesy of Oliver the heart-throb, was a cobalt blue road bike.

Lily had given him a hard time about it, but she was more excited than anything else. It would be an adventure all the time, and she wouldn't have to wait for Oliver to drive her anywhere since she hadn't gotten her licence yet.

As they traveled, Oliver was calling things out to her, "Lily! Lily? Can you hear me?"

"Yes Oliver." she said in a monotone to amuse him.

"Good. Look to your right. That's the library, the big brick building. And this right here," he said pointing up at a small building to her left, "Is the café. If you're ever looking for somewhere to hang out and meet some people our age, go here.

He continued south for some time, pointing out parks and museums and his favorite small beach just past Maiden Cove.

"Lily?'

"Yeah, Oliver?" she called in front of her.

"Follow me!" he shouted before turning sharply around another corner and heading in an entirely different direction. She laughed at his enthusiasm and sped up to catch him. He responded and began pedaling as fast as his legs would take him and she accepted the challenge. They swerved over the curving concrete road, floating, almost. Oliver screeched to a stop, surprising Lily, who almost flipped over her handlebars trying to imitate him.

"Lily! Are you all right!?" Oliver asked frantically, looking up to where she was gingerly sliding off her bike.

"Fine," she said. She really wasn't hurt, and didn't want Oliver to worry about her.

"Look over there," he said.

She obeyed and let her eyes fall upon a beautiful white stucco lighthouse. A red-roofed cottage was attached behind it, and she couldn't help but feel like she was in a story book. She looked down and saw Ferns and grasses surrounding her ankles and bright yellow flowers popping from them. "It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, "Is this what you wanted to show me?"

"Uhm, not quite, actually. But you'll know it when you see it. I know you love lighthouses," he told her, with a growing excitement in his eyes.

"Yeah," she whispered, taking in the view, "They're so picturesque. This is so perfect-looking, Oliver. With the blue water and the rocky cliffs. I...I love it. Thank you!"

"Don't get to excited. There's better stuff to come," he told her, "But I'm glad you like it," he paused and met her gaze, "Tired?"

"Yeah. Very," she said as the two lay down in the grass and stare up at the sky. Lily wondered what surprise could be better than this.

**A/N: Chapter three done! Getting better, I hope. Now that some more stuff is happening. Next up? Oliver and Lily are getting comfortable in their surroundings, but they get a big surprise from ol' Grandma Oken. And yeah, It'll disrupt a lot. CONFLICT! Haha. Thanks for reading. As always, please review.**


	4. Any Guy

**A/N: Hello again. I'm trying to get as many of these out as I can now so I don't have to keep you guys waiting so long after this weekend. Anyway, thanks for all the amazing reviews guys. It helps so much! This chapter is a little longer. I like them that way, though. Anyway, now we get CONFLICT! So, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: **Yeah. You guessed it. I totally own Hannah Montana. Just kidding. I'd be on a yacht partying or at a fancy dinner right now if I did, not typing this disclaimer, which I guess only needs to say I DO NOT OWN HANNAH MONTANA. D

Chapter 4: Any Guy

Lily saw something stick out in the water and reached down. She loved Oliver's "private beach", as he liked to call it, even though it was inhabited by three or four other families at the moment. She let her fingers graze the object, realizing it was a sand dollar, and grasped it. As she leaned up, she felt to arms reach around her waist from behind.

"Oliver!" she shouted at him, flailing since he'd begun to pick her up. "Oliver, put me down!" she laughed. She felt him start to run towards deeper water. She grabbed his chest with her free hands and tried to pull herself up, but all she succeeded in was giving him a tighter grasp around her.

She was laughing hysterically now. She tried kicking against his stomach, but he immediately lifted her up and tossed her into the water. Shutting her eyes tight, she felt a powerful splash and water hard against her. Her breathing was cut off for a moment until she returned to the surface, an angry look in her eyes.

"Ooookeeeennnn!" she screamed at him, coughing up water.

But Oliver recognized the familiar smile on her face and told her, "Lily-pad, you were covered in sand. I was helping you out be cleaning you off."

"Gosh, thanks," she said sarcastically before wrapping her arms around him, imitating a damsel in distress. "Come on, let's go," she told him, letting go, and started walking towards shore.

He followed her out and handed her a towel when they reached their things. After a few minutes of drying in the sun and pulling on some clothes, they rode their bikes back to Mrs. Oken's cottage.

Oliver opened the front door and lead Lily in. They kicked off their flip flops and set down their bags. Lily ran a hand through her hair and started up the stairs while Oliver headed towards the bathroom, but they were stopped by an elderly voice.

"Oliver? Lily? Could you two come here for a moment?" Mrs. Oken called from the kitchen.

"No problem, Grandma," Oliver motioned to Lily and the two walked out into the kitchen and sat down at the round wooden table where Oliver's grandmother was sitting.

She smiled widely at them, "How was your trip to the beach?"

"Good," Lily spoke first, "It's nice that you have a spot that's not very busy. Not at all like Malibu."

"No. Nothing like the Northeast. Anyway," she spoke slowly and reached down into her bag to pull out some colorful-looking flyers, "I signed you two up for a summer camp in Bridgewater Corners, Vermont!" she exclaimed happily. "I thought you would get bored up here for a whole month, so here's something to do for a week!"

Oliver and Lily seemed relatively pleased, and accepted the brochures that she handed to them. "Camps Myers and Fitch," Lily read, "Adventure camp for highschoolers. Sounds like fun!"

"It's all right by me," Oliver said happily, "When does it start?"

"Actually, it starts Monday, so you'll need to pack your stuff and be ready by tomorrow night so I can drop you two with the bus Monday morning," she motioned to them to leave the table, "so start packing!" she laughed.

Lily and Oliver excused themselves from the table and raced up the stairs, "She's just like you!" Lily laughed, then mimed Oliver shouting "so start packing!" to her just a week or so earlier.

"So what do you actually think?" he asked her cautiously. He knew better than to think Lily would object to an idea of someone she didn't know, especially when that someone seemed so excited about it.

"Actually, I don't have any problem with it. It'll be one more adventure in Maine with Oliver. What could be more fun?" she cooed sarcastically.

"Haha. Really? I don't want to make you do anything you wouldn't want to," he told her, eyes wide and pleading.

"Don't you want to go? Cause really, I don't mind at all," she said entering her bedroom and pulling her sturdy suitcase out from under the bed.

"Good," he smiled and returned to his room to pack.

Xxx...xxX

Monday morning was more of a race than anything else. Lily and Oliver more or less swallowed their breakfast in ten seconds flat before being shoved, with their belongings, into the new-smelling Cadillac and raced off towards the downtown convention center, where a short bus to the camp was waiting.

Goodbyes were barely exchanged before the pair found themselves squeezed with their luggage into the back seat of a bus that contained only a few more girls and boys from the area.

"All right, campers," a voice called from the front of the bus. A blonde head and a brown mop appeared over the top of a back seat to see a tall dark-haired woman with a baseball cap on speaking to them, "We're about to leave, so everyone double check to make sure they have everything they'll be needing for the next week. Insect Repellant? Medications? Do you all have sturdy shoes?"

A low murmur was heard throughout the bus as the students rummaged through their bags to make sure they'd packed everything. Heads soon returned to the attention of the woman.

"Good. All right! Camp Myers and Fitch, here we come!"

Lily and Oliver sniggered at this cliche phrase, but didn't mind. There was no reason to be upset, and they may as well enjoy themselves while they were there.

Xxx...xxX

"So Lily," Oliver said, looking out the bus window, to the sleepy girl next to him, "What do you think you'll do when you get older?"

"Oliver..." she looked at him puzzled, "What would make you ask that?"

"I don't know, I was just thinking."

"Thinking what?" she asked.

"I figured I'd grow up to be rich and famous, and I wanted to make sure whatever you were planning on being would be good enough to still hang out with me. You know, reputation and all."

"Oh shove it, Oliver," Lily laughed, "I'm not sure though. Maybe I'll be a chef or a kindergarten teacher. Something that doesn't take too much time so I can still stay at home with my husband or kids."

Oliver looked up at her suddenly, "You're getting married?"

"Oh, don't look so surprised! I can get married if I want to!' she said, pinching his arm.

"Ouch," he murmured, "I know. I just never imagined you the type to fall in love and have a big romantic wedding, then stay at home with the kids and all."

"Who says it has to be like that? I can love someone and not have to live a storybook romance," she shot back.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's just -"

"Just what Oliver? You don't think any guy would want to marry me?"

"No! No! Not at all! There are tons of guys who would pay to marry you, Lily," he looked at her pleadingly, sincerely, she thought, and continued, "You could have any guy you wanted."

"Now don't go all mushy on me now. What if I told you I thought that kid sitting there," she pointed towards a red-headed boy who looked about a year older than them, seventeen maybe, who was sitting in a seat a few rows up from them, "was gorgeous, and that I think I'm falling in love with him. In fact, Oliver. I think I'll marry him. Maybe I should tell him!" she scolded him, acting like she were about to get out of her seat.

"Hey now. That's not what I meant. Calm down, Lily, okay?"

"Oh, so you think he'd turn me down?"

"Lily," Oliver looked her in the eye, "Maybe you should just wait, okay? You're going to get married and be ridiculously happy when you grow up, I promise."

"Really?" she asked him.

"Really."

"Anyone? Any guy I mean?" she looked at him hopefully.

"Any guy."

"What about you?"

Oliver's head shot up at that thought, and he tried to conceal his cheeks, which were growing increasingly red, with the collar of his jacket, "Didn't I say any guy, Lily?"

There was a long pause in conversation and Oliver turned again towards his window, nervous. He hoped Lily would drop the subject so he wouldn't have to worry about his feelings. _'Feelings?'_ he questioned himself. Had it really gotten that far? He was willingly accepting that he might have feelings for Lily Truscott? He shook his head and lay it against the warm glass.

"Oliver?" Lily whispered after a few minutes had passed.

"Yeah Lily?"

"I love you, you know that, right?"

"Of course I know that, Lily. I love you too. Don't forget. Forever."

Xxx...xxX

The air seemed recognizably warmer as the seven or eight teens from Portland pushed out of the bus to be greeted by a tall sign that read "Camp Myers and Fitch". Lily and Oliver glanced around the open area to see a series of small wooden cabins, piles of luggage, and a lot of teens gathered in groups, already bustling and chatting about what would be happening that summer.

A whistle sounded shrilly across the camp and silence ensued. A blonde man stepped out in front of the teens and instructed them, "Hello campers! Welcome to Camp Myers and Fitch. We have an exciting week planned for you, and want to get started right away. Boys, please follow Mr. Ellanby to the boys dorms behind you. Girls, please grab your luggage and follow Ms. Adela across the lake to the girls cabins. Make sure you report to your mess halls in time for lunch at noon. Enjoy your stay!" he concluded.

Lily looked up at Oliver, puzzled. Oliver opened his mouth as if to ask a question, but a boy from behind took his arm and dragged him off to follow his counselor. Lily looked around confused, but obliged and followed the group of girls across the lake.

On the way, she saw a girl about her age who looked friendly, "Hey," she said.

"Hey," the girl looked up at her and smiled, "Is this your first year here?"

"Yeah," Lily told her, "Uhm, why do they separate the boys and girls like this?"

"Oh, sorry, but they run it like two different camps. We stay on our side, and the boys stay over here. We spend the last day together, though. There's a dance, you know."

"Oh," Lily said sadly.

"Why? What's wrong? Hoping you'd get to spend lots of time in the lake with all the teenage boys? Looking for some summer love, eh?"

"No, not quite. I came here with one of my guy friends. I just thought we'd get to spend some more time together."

The girl looked up at her sincerely, "I'm sorry to hear that, but you won't be seeing too much of each other for the next six days. But my name is Adrienne, and you're welcome to hang out with me and my friends. We've been going here for three years now."

"Thanks," Lily smiled at her, but her heart sunk.

"All right girls!" Ms. Adela stopped and turned to them once they'd reached the other side of the lake. "These are your cabins for the next week. Six in each. Go!" she called to them, and there was a sudden burst of shouting and laughing as girls pushed towards the five cabins sitting neatly in a row, with a mess hall in front of them and a large fire pit between.

Lily looked up at the mess and stayed put. Where was she supposed to go? Just then she felt a tug on her wrist. She turned to see Adrienne.

"Come on! We need another girl, anyway!" She smiled at Lily.

Lily ran after her into a cabin labeled with a large number three. She grabbed the lower side of the last bunk and set her stuff down. The other girls began laughing and talking, but she just lay down on her bed and looked up at the boards above her. A week without Oliver? So much for a great Maine adventure with her best friend at her side. She closed her eyes and sulked.

**A/N: What do you think? I don't think it was my best, especially that little argument. Next up, Lily and Oliver deal with their separation. Or do they have to be separated at all? hint hint But you'll only get to see if you sent lots of loving reviews. D**


	5. Overprotective

**A/N: Chapter 5! Thanks a thousand times over to all my reviewers. I hope you guys are enjoying this story as it gets a little deeper into the plot. So now we have two separated teenagers with raging emotions. What could possibly happen? Haha. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer:** Due to an unfortunate mishap with some spilled ink, I wasn't the one who got to take claim to Hannah Montana, and am therefore not the owner of said franchise.

Chapter 5: Overprotective

Lily shifted on the smooth log beneath her, trying to get comfortable in front of the fire. She absent-mindedly sang along with Jamie, who was leading them in their third or fourth campfire song for the night, and the rest of the girls.

THE PRINCESS PAT (the princess pat)

LIVED IN A TREE (lived in a tree)

SHE SAILED ACROSS (she sailed across)

THE SEVEN SEAS (the seven seas)...

The music continued, but Lily was watching around her. She looked up over the head of Mar, one of her cabin mates, at a fire across the lake. She knew it belonged to the boy's half of the camp. She imagined Oliver sitting around it, looking across the lake at the burning fire where she sat. She'd only been away from him for a few hours, but she knew it would wind up being a lot longer than that, and it hurt her to think about it.

"All right, ladies," called Ms. Adela, "Time for bed. Breakfast is at seven thirty, and you've got to eat before we do our morning hike, so don't stay up to late," she smiled at them and dismissed the girls.

Lily and her five roommates jogged back over to their cabin and crawled into bed.

The three bunks were lined up in a row across the back wall of the cabin. Lily curled up into a ball and shut her eyes. If she fell asleep right away, she'd be one day closer to seeing Oliver again.

"Hey Lily," Mar was the first to speak in the dark room, "What's the matter? Cramps?"

"Mar!" Adrienne scolded, "Don't be rude. No, she misses her boyfriend, girls."

Lily raised one eyebrow and sat up in her bunk. The voice above her, Katie, called down, "Oh my gosh Lily! You've got a boyfriend? I'm so jealous! What's his name?"

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Famous last words!" squealed Ellie.

"Really though. He's just my best friend. I came out here with him. We didn't know we were going to be separated for a whole week," she explained.

"Wow," Leslie piped in from the bunk next to her, "That's awful."

Adrienne stuck her head over from Lily's other side, "You've been away from each other before, though, I'm sure. Are you really that upset?"

"Guys!" Mar called in a shrill voice, "She's in love with him! Can't you tell? Give her a break!"

There was an excited roar of laughter and murmuring circling her. At that moment it occurred to Lily what was being said, "No! No I'm not! We're just friends," she defended herself.

The other girls caught on and quieted down. They all understood what she was going through. Lily sat thinking, staring down at the generic covers that blanketed her bunk for a few minutes. She was losing track of time.

"Is he cute?" Katie grinned and stuck her head under her bunk so she could see Lily.

Lily blushed a little and smiled shyly back at her, "yeah." She was feeling a little more willing to talk now.

"What's his name?" Leslie asked.

"Oliver."

"Ooh. That's the name of a keeper. There are a few names actually. You can just kind of tell. I met a guy once. Name was Zach. All Zach's are cute. It's just a rule. And they're all very dateable. I would know. Oliver is another one, though. And Cody. Ever met a Cody? Most Josh's, too."

Leslie continued to ramble on, and within a few minutes the other girls had willingly joined in, talking about their home cities, their friends, past loves, and what they thought of Ms. Craw's mole. After an hour or so someone looked at a watch and saw the time, but no girl remembered who it was, since she was immediately silenced by a communal grown as they recalled how early they had to wake up in the morning.

Xxx...xxX

"Lily! Slow down!" Adrienne called to her from the back seat of their double kayak the next afternoon, "You're paddling way too fast for me! Jeez, did you do crew in another life or something?"

Lily turned and smiled, the sun reflecting off her blonde hair. "Probably. Keep up, Adrienne, gosh!" she laughed.

The two paddled deeper into the lake just in time to watch Leslie and Ellie capsize. Screeches of "MY NEW SHIRT!" and "Holy crap!" were heard routinely throughout their boating experience. Adrienne and Lily giggled at each of these, since neither of them had any previous training, but they were having no problems.

At the sound of Ms. Adela's whistle, the girls paddled in back towards shore and climbed carefully out of the boats. Lily had one foot in the wet sand when she saw a certain mop-headed friend of hers run through the field in front of her, holding a flag. Her eyes intensified on him when he ran across a spray-painted line and threw his arms up in the air in a cheer.

He turned and saw her, but when she raised a hand to wave to him, Adrienne stepped fully from the kayak, unbalancing the weight and sending Lily face-first into the sand.

"Uhhf!" she let an airy sound escape her lips as she hit the ground. Adrienne ran around the front of the boat to her.

"Are you all right?" she asked frantically.

"Yeah, definitely. Fine," she said convincingly. "Sorry about that, I was just, uh, distracted."

"No problem," Adrienne said curiously, and held out her hand to help Lily up. She took it willingly and watched Adrienne run off behind the other girls. She stepped to follow when she felt a familiar strong hand on her shoulder.

"Oliver," she said without turning around.

"Smooth one, there, Lily-pad," he laughed, and she joined. "Listen, I'm really sorry about this. I had no idea we were going to be separated."

"Yeah, me either." She gave him a lopsided compensating grin. "Don't worry about it though. It's only a few days. And this is still fun. I've made friends."

"I see. Anyway, meet me here tonight after everyone's gone to bed. Midnight, all right? To make sure we don't get caught."

"Oliver-" she tried to protest.

"Do it. Please. I don't want to leave you here alone. I invited you on this trip with me, and I'm going to spend time with you, damn it." he laughed at what he said, but Lily could see in his expression that he was upset.

"All right," she agreed, "But I need to go, see you tonight," she said, running off after Adrienne.

When she caught her, Adrienne turned to her, "Oliver?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Definitely a keeper."

Xxx...xxX

"Oliver," Lily whispered in the night, lit only by a small flashlight ring she was carrying. If she had a real light with her, she'd be caught in an instant. "Oliver?" she tried again. She walked a little farther down the side of the lake, thinking maybe she'd mixed up the dock or misunderstood him. She heard something move in the distance, a crunch of grass or dropping of a pebble; she couldn't tell.

"Oliver?" she called once more, hopefully.

"Lily."

She lifted her light to see him standing there, and threw her arms around him, "Thank goodness! You had me worried out her in the dark!"

"Sorry, Lils. I was held up trying to get away. I had to make sure I wouldn't be caught," he reassured her. "But I'm here now. Come on, let's sit in the grass where it's soft."

Lily grabbed his hand to be sure she followed him to the right place, and sat alongside him. "So what's up? Why'd you have me risk my well-being to see you? You are conceited, huh?" she laughed.

"Yup," he said, "But you know that about me. Anyway, I miss you."

"I miss you, too."

"There's a dance on Friday, you know."

"I know," Lily said, flipping onto her stomach.

"You're going with me, aren't you?" Oliver questioned, mimicking Lily's position so that he was facing her, leaving them almost nose-to-nose.

"Nope. I'm going with my new boyfriend Allen."

"What?" Oliver asked, suddenly worried.

"I'm just kidding. Of course I'm going with you."

"Good," he reassured himself and rolled his eyes. "What have the girls been up to?"

"Not much," Lily explained. "We went for a hike this morning and have done some kayaking. A lot of "bonding" activities, you know?"

"Yeah."

"Anyway," she started again, "We're going to do some pretty cool stuff coming up."

Oliver scooted a little closer and rested his forehead on hers. "What kind of stuff?"

"We're doing a backpack hike tomorrow."

"Oh?" Oliver asked, suddenly a little unsure.

"Yeah. We're going out into the rocky hills for the day. We're going to climb as far and as high as we can. It should be pretty fun," she continued.

"Oh, uhm, are you sure you wanna do that?" he tried so sound as passive as possible.

"Yeah. Why not?" she teased. "Anyway, the boys from Cabin 3, since I'm in Cabin 3, are going to be hiking with my group, so I can meet some more friends."

"Lily, I really don't think you should be going on this hike." He looked at her sternly.

"Why not? Jealous that I'll be spending time with guys other than you?"

"No!" Oliver jumped defensively, moving his forehead away from hers and sitting up, cross-legged. She followed suit.

"What's the problem then?" she asked, upset.

"It's just-" he paused, unsure of his words. He didn't want to make her upset. "It's dangerous."

"What!?" Lily shouted in surprise. She crossed her arms across her chest. "How could it possibly be dangerous? They do it every year. It's a hike, Oliver."

"But Lily-" he started.

"What? I'm not strong enough? Cause I'm a girl? Way to be supportive, Oliver."

"No! That's not what I meant! Let me talk!" he shouted back at her.

"What, then?"

"Your arm."

"My...arm." she looked down at it and considered it, "What the hell is wrong with my arm!?"

"You just broke it. You're recovering. You could get hurt if you work it too hard," he tried to explain calmly, but his emotions were raging. _'I can't let her go climbing around with a bunch of guys. Something will happen. I know it,'_ he told himself.

"Seriously? Seriously!?" she turned her back to him now and stared up into the sky. "We've had this conversation, _Oken,_" she said his name like she were gritting her teeth, and Oliver cringed at the sound, "They took the cast off because it's better. Got that? Better. As in I'm just fine!"

"No you're not!" he protested.

"Oliver! Would you just tell me what your problem is?!"

"I don't have a problem!" he defended himself.

"Then what?"

"It's those other guys in Cabin 3, too. I know them, Lils."

"I would expect so," she said snidely.

"Well they're not all good guys. You're gorgeous Lily, and it won't take them half a second to realize that," he paused for a second, making Lily blush. She blamed it on her anger and let him continue. "If you go out there with them, they're not gunna leave you alone. They're gunna try all sorts of things, and I don't want you to have to go through that."

"Oliver Oken!" she shouted, "I can take care of myself!" she stood up from her place and dusted off her pajama pants.

"I know, Lily! I know! But they can't control themselves. Believe me, I'm a sixteen-year-old boy. I know what emotions go through our heads! Besides, it's hot out! You could get dehydrated! Or, remember that time in fourth grade when you tripped over all those rocks in the woods and got all scraped up and it got infected? What if something like that happened? I don't want you to get hurt!"

"Jeez Oliver! Jealous much? No, actually, you're just being overprotective. My arm is going to be just fine if I go out and do a little climbing, and I'm perfectly capable of keeping a few rowdy teenage boys off me for a couple of hours. And that other stuff? Where do you come up with that? I mean, come on!" She sighed, "Goodbye, Oliver!"

"Lily, wait," he called, standing up and reaching for her arm. He had to convince her not to go on that hike.

She felt his fingers graze her own and shuddered. She held his hand for a moment and turned around, tears welling in her eyes. Then she dropped his hand and ran across the lake to her cabin, leaving Oliver heartbroken behind her.

When she arrived at the cabin, she flung open the door as silently as she could and stomped back to her bed. She threw off her flip flops and crawled, sobbing, back into her bed. She covered herself with blankets and tried to dig as deep down into the bedding as she could.

Adrienne woke to the sound of Lily's sulking. When she realized what it was she was hearing, she opened her eyes and whispered, "Lily?"

A faint grunt was the only response.

"Lily, sweetie, What happened?" she tried to bend as close to her as she could for an answer, but all she heard was a few muffled syllables that sounded something like "Oliver".

**A/N: Thoughts? Complaints? Questions? Blank Stares? I'm not sure I'm much good at writing super intense fighting scenes (hahaha), but I tried anyway. Up next, how will these two figure it out and get back together? Since they do **_**have**_** to get back together. This is Loliver, after all. Haha. Update soon to come. Please review!**


	6. Not Worth It

**A/N: Chapter six! I'm impressed I've written this much so quickly! We left Lily and Oliver in a pretty lousy situation, so let's see what they decide to do about it. Ha. This'll be good. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: **You know that little song Jiminy Cricket sings that goes something like "When you wish upon a star..." etc? Well I wished upon an awful big star that I could own Hannah Montana (as well as quite a few others), and my wish has not yet come true. Bummer.

Chapter 6: Not Worth It

"Lily!" Adrienne shouted at her, eyes wide, though she was no more than one bed over. "He was trying to protect you! He got jealous of other guys! He's totally in love with you!"

Lily glanced up at Adrienne, wishing she had never told her the story of what had happened to her the previous night. "He is not," she slumped her shoulders and leaned against the wall from her bed. "He's a jerk. I never want to see him again."

"Suit yourself, Lils," she said, sliding off her bed and standing up. "We gotta go."

"Don't call me that," she mumbled angrily.

"Lils?" she questioned. "Why not?"

"Just don't, okay? I don't wanna hear that nickname ever again."

"All right," she smiled knowingly. "Come on. It's time for the hike."

"I'm not going."

Adrienne stopped and turned to face her again. "Not going? Why not?"

"I'm not in the mood," she grumbled.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she breathed honestly.

"All right. I'll see you this afternoon when we get back. Don't get into too much trouble here on your own," she called while exiting from the large front door.

Lily lay down on her bed as long as she could bear. She was angry and restless and wanted nothing else than to get up and punch the hell out of something. When she heard that the group had left, she jumped from her bed eagerly.

She reached into her suitcase and pulled out a granola bar that she'd stuck inside it yesterday after breakfast. After gulping down the last crumbly pieces, she decided she had to do something with her built up anger. She contemplated jumping up and down, jumping jacks, push-ups, and smacking the life out of her pillow, but nothing seemed like it could possibly use up her adrenaline.

She gave in and slipped on a pair of tennis shoes. She left her cabin and started up a jog. Within moments it had evolved into a fast-pace run. She was frustrated, and she couldn't get the feeling out of her system. At least this way she could exhaust herself into so much that she'd be to tired to feel it. She headed off in the direction of the hike they'd taken the morning before. Just a few paths in and out of the woods and along the lake.

She felt the pace quicken beneath her. Her feet pounded to the rhythm of her anger, if anger could have rhythm. She shut her eyes and kept running. She pumped her arms harder, and soon felt herself in an all out sprint. It carried her through the end of the woods and back towards the cabins.

Her legs screamed to her after she didn't know how long. Finally she came to the lake and collapsed onto the grass, panting hard, her eyes tearing. Why was this so hard for her. After a few moments she regained full control of her body and sat herself up again a rock. She looked out onto the lake and saw the boy's camp out in kayaks. She watched mindlessly until her eyes came across the same mop-headed boy she'd been trying to forget. She grunted under her breath at her unfortunate luck.

She leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a moment, then brought them back to the sight before her. She saw him in the front of a raven black kayak, pulling and pushing on the oars with precision and strength. She watched as his strong arms pumped back and forth, and his shoulders worked in the rhythm. She traced the rays of sunlight down to his bare, toned chest, which she couldn't help but admire. Firm and comfortable, she knew. She imagined herself pressed up against him, her sweating body lying perfectly in the shape of his glistening chest.

'_Lily!'_ she about screamed at herself, _'What are you doing!? You know what he said to you, what he did to you last night. But look at what he's doing to you now! Snap out of it!"_

She sighed and pulled herself up and out of the grass. Without anywhere to go, and her only friend not talking to her, she ran ashamed back into the woods.

She passed through at a dauntingly slow pace. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't her legs go any faster. She watched as her eyesight went a little blurry. She blinked, trying to get it all to go away. She wanted to be anywhere but there.

She forced her body to stop, trying to walk off her problem, but her legs were wobbling and she couldn't seem to catch her balance. She fell onto her knees and gagged. She kneeled there for a few moments until she felt a little better. She pushed herself up and decided it was time for her to rest.

She saw a tree with a low branch and decided it would be a good place so pass the time. She dragged her feet over to it and placed one hand around the trunk of the tree and another on a branch below her destination. She pulled herself up to the first branch and reached for the second, but suddenly felt a dizziness wash over her. She clung to the trunk to wait for it to pass, but she could feel her fingers slipping clean off the bark.

Xxx...xxX

Oliver ran a towel over his hair one last time before hanging it back up on the rack to dry after his shower. He glanced in the mirror at himself. Sadness. That's what he saw. He knew he shouldn't have said those things to Lily, but he couldn't help himself. He didn't want anything to happen to her, which is why he decided he was going to march right into her cabin today and tell her what had happened.

There weren't really rules saying that the boys couldn't hang out with the girls. It was just kind of understood that they were two different groups there for two different reasons. But Oliver knew no one would be too thrilled with the idea of him walking into a girl's bedroom.

When he reached the girl's side of the lake, he decided he'd try to stay hidden so as not to raise any speculation, and snuck into the woods. He followed them carefully to the edge of the cabins, and after seeing Ms. Adela move towards the fire circle, made a run for the back door of Cabin 3. He felt like he couldn't go fast enough, and that his feet were as loud as elephants as he crossed the ten or twenty meters to the door.

He rapped quickly on the door, then stood out of the way in an instant, in case it wasn't a teenager who opened the door.

"Hello?" he heard a young voice call. Thank goodness.

He popped his head from around the side of the open door and responded, "Hey. Where's Lily?"

"Oliver, right?" he recognized the girl as the one who had been with Lily in the kayak. Yeah. But really, I've got to talk to Lily."

"Oh," the girl said, looking at her feet, "She's not here right now. I haven't seen her since this morning, actually."

"This morning?" Oliver looked concerned. "What about the hike?"

"She said she didn't want to go. She must have gone out somewhere. I though maybe she had gone to find you."

"Me? No!" he said, now frantic. Where was she? No one had seen her in the two hours since the group had gotten back from their hike. "I've gotta go. See you around!" he yelled, already around the cottage and to the fire circle.

"Ms. Adela!" he shouted to get her attention. It worked, and she whipped around in an instant. Her eyes popped when she saw who was standing behind her. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted, "I'm sorry I'm over on this side of the lake, but this is urgent! Have you seen Lily Truscott since you got back from the hike?" he was nearly out of breath, and only barely got the end of his sentence out.

"Uhm..." she considered the thought, "No. No I haven't. Why do you need her?"

"There's no time to explain. I've got to find her!" he shouted back. He looked at all the girls sitting around near the cabins and yelled out, "Has anyone seen Lily Truscott?" It was then he realized how odd this must sound, but he didn't care.

He looked around to see people shaking their heads and mouthing confused 'no's back to him. "Aaarghhhh!" he cried out in frustration.

_'Where is she!?' _he thought to himself. _'What if she's hurt? If I were Lily, and I was fuming mad at my best friend, with no where to go and nothing to do, how would I have used my time?'_

In a moment he understood what had happened. Lily could never control her anger without getting physical. She was nowhere here, so he went to the next best place.

Oliver found himself sprinting into the woods, his feet moving faster than he had believed possible.

"LILY!" he cried out frantically. _'What happened to her!?'_

"LILYYY!" he was screaming now, running hard along the dirt path, flipping his head in every direction, hoping to find her.

"LIILLYYY!?" he was growing desperate and slowing his pace. He had to find her.

Just then he heard a low moan from somewhere ahead. He picked up his pace and found a small path off to the side. He turned quickly and came immediately across a sight that almost killed him inside.

A thin, beautiful blonde girl lay sprawled across the roots of an old gnarly tree. She was on her stomach with her face out to the side. Oliver ran to her and placed a hand on her face, but removed it quickly when he realized the blood seeping from it. He placed one hand behind her neck and the other beneath her knees and scooped her into his arms. He hugged her tight to him and stared down at the bruises she had lined across one side of her body. It made him sick inside.

Without a second thought he began sprinting back towards the camp. Coming from the woods he yelled as loud as he still had voice enough to, "Ms. Adela! I have Lily! Get help!"

A confused Ms. Adela stuck her head out from the mess room to see a heroic-looking Oliver running with a bloody Lily clutched in his arms.

Xxx...xxX

"Oliver?" Lily breathed weakly to the brunette standing at her side, hand entwined with hers.

"Yeah?" he asked hopefully. It was the first time he'd gotten to see her since he'd handed her over to the camp doctor.

"How-" she breathed deeply and tried to speak again, "How-how did-"

He saved her the misery, "How did I find you?" she nodded and he gripped her hand tighter. "I know you, Lily. And I know how you handle anger. When you weren't around I figured you must have gone somewhere, done something. It's a good thing you didn't go on that trip though, Lils. I mean, we wouldn't have wanted you to get hurt." he said mischievously.

He could tell she was whole-heartedly trying to laugh at the irony. The odds weren't in her favor, though, and it came out more like choking.

"Lily," he breathed and placed his other hand on his forehead, "What were you thinking? The doctor told you went out running. It was 95 degree weather. You had only eaten a granola bar. Why would you do something like that?" he took his hand from his forehead and placed it on her cheek.

She mouthed to him something that hurt him inside, "You."

"Lily," he told her purposefully, "Don't ever let _anything_ I say to you make you do something like that. I'm so sorry, but I'm not worth it. If I ever do something like that to you again, don't get angry, just forget about it. I'm not worth it," he reassured her.

Lily sat up a bit and opened her eyes a bit wider. Though she had gotten a lot of strength back after a good amount of water and rest, it looked like the was using all of it now to speak to him. "Oliver?"

"Yeah, Lily?" he looked down painfully at her bandages, thinking he was the one who caused them. He couldn't bear to think he'd done that to her. He hoped she'd eventually forgive him.

"Thanks."

**A/N: One more chapter complete. Are they still worth reading? Of course I had to put a little excerpt of running in there. Check the account name. Haha. I don't think you'll have to force yourself through another one of those though. I can't see a reason I'd need any character running again. Hope you enjoyed it. Coming up next, the end of Camp Myers and Fitch, including a fabulous dance. Can you say sexual tension? Haha. Please review.**


	7. Close to Him

**A/N:** **Chapter 7 is up! Lily and Oliver still have a dance to get through, and we'll have lots of fun playing with their emotions in this next chapter. Thanks to Fairywolf for the description of Lily's dress. This chapter goes out to you!**

**Disclaimer: **If I were good enough to own it, would my stories really be here?

Chapter 7: Close to Him

Lily was walking casually along-side Adrienne and Mar over the playing field. Lily had spent most of the next day in bed and around the cabin, but she was feeling fine now, Saturday morning, and the only remnants of her accident were a few scratches and bruises, most of which were covered by her clothing.

The girls had just finished playing a game of touch football and were headed back towards the cabins for lunch when Lily heard her name projected across the field.

She whipped around to see Oliver running up to her and took a few steps back towards him. No one had minded that Oliver made time to talk to Lily a few times each day after what had happened on Wednesday. They'd even let him come up and sit with her around the fire circle once or twice.

"What is it this time, Oliver?" Lily laughed and let her friends walk off without her. "You can never just leave me in the peace of women, huh?"

"Nope," he smiled brightly at her and continued, "So tonight,"

"Yeah, tonight? What's going on,"

"You're still my date to dance it up, aren't you?" he questioned and grabbed her hands, playing romantic.

"Of course. Well, I guess I could always go with some of those Cabin 3 guys. I've heard a lot of good things about them." she pulled her hands away, but moved so that she was now standing at his side with her head on his shoulder.

"Hahaha. Very funny," he threw his head up sarcastically, "Anyway, let's really play it up, okay?"

"What do you mean?" she pulled her head up from his shoulder and looked at him questioningly.

"Well, I'll come to your cabin and pick you up at seven, and we'll walk hand in hand along the lake at dusk, then we'll show up at the dance and make it a real party, and I'll bring you punch and you'll have to dance with me. Then we'll sit by the side of the lake until we're too tired to think, and I'll walk you home." he finished dramatically, as if he'd planned the evening of their wedding.

"Oliver Oken," Lily smiled, pushing his shoulder, "Are you asking me on a date?"

"A date!?" Oliver looked shocked, "Can't your best friend of thirteen years take you to a dance for fun, and have it not be a date?"

Lily was laughing at him, "No, no not really. But let's do it. This place is starting to get boring, and we need to liven it up a little. Of course I'll be your romantic date tonight," she reassured him, enjoying herself immensely.

"But," Oliver started again and Lily groaned at the thought of more guidelines, "You have to dress up, and I'll tuck in my shirt and everything."

"Oliver? Tucking in his shirt?" she shouted as if in hysterics, "I don't believe it! I must be something really special."

"Yeah, yeah, Lily. You're fantastic," he waved her off. "Anyway, seven, right?"

"Seven," she said., smiling, and ran back to her cabin.

Xxx...xxX

Lily stood apprehensively in front of the cheap mirror hung on the inside door of her cabin's bathroom. She studied herself carefully, unsure of what she thought of the way she looked. She scanned herself from head to toe; A baby blue dress. It had a simple v-neck scoop help up with thin strap. A black sparkling belt fit cleanly around her waist, making the short, flirty skirt that fell easily above her knee pop. A pair of beaded black flip flops made home to her painted toes.

She looked up at her hair. She'd done it in soft curls, down over her shoulders, with a sparkling black headband holding back the loose pieces. Soft makeup and a few pieces of delicate silver jewelry her mom had gotten her for her sixteenth birthday finished her look.

Looking at herself, she was unsure. _'I never get dressed up,' _she thought. _'Oliver is going to think I look ridiculous like this.'_

She began to slide off her flip flops to find something else to wear when Leslie stopped her in the doorway, "Lily!" she exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! You look amazing!"

Before Lily could respond, Leslie was fingering the detailing on the hem of her dress and a few of the other girls were walking over, most in states of half-dress.

"Cute hair!" Katie told her, zipping up the back of her gold and white Greek-style dress. Lily smiled a little, but was still unsure. She admired the girls around her, who dressed with such ease for these kinds of things. She wondered why it wasn't easier for her to be girly.

"Do you guys really think so? I'm not sure I can really pull it off," she started explaining, fiddling with her hair and pulling on her dress.

"Lily!" Ellie shouted and looked around at the other girls, "You are easily the best-looking girl in this bathroom. Lily laughed, and Mar piped in.

"Hey! I think I look pretty damn good, too!" She smiled and joined in the laughing, "But Lily, really. You look amazing. You'll be breaking lots of hearts tonight!"

"She doesn't mind," Adrienne said, her head popping out from around the bathroom door. She was clearly not fully-clothed. "The only heart she's watching out for tonight is Oliver's!" she exclaimed.

A murmur went around the girls, who congratulated her, and, without second thoughts, tossed her out of the bathroom with excuses like, "You already look great. It's my turn, so get out."

The mood was considerably more relaxed than it had been in the last few days, which put Lily at ease. She was excited. She couldn't help herself.

She slid of her shoes and sat carefully on her bed, not wanting to ruin any aspect of her dress. She thought about the night ahead of her and felt her heart pick up a little. She felt like she were twelve again, getting butterflies in her stomach over some boy.

A gentle rap came from the door. Lily shuddered a bit happily. _'Oliver,' _she thought, and put her shoes back on, walking towards the door.

She took one last look down at herself and pulled open the door. Oliver stood there, grinning madly at her. _'Damn,' _she thought, _'This boy cleans up nicely.'_ His hair was less mop-like, which she was happy to see. She glanced at his button-down shirt tucked nicely into a pair of dressy khaki pants.

"Hey good lookin'," she kidded to him.

"Lily," he looked her in the eye, breathing deep, "You look beautiful tonight." She blushed furiously at him as he held out his arm. She willingly took it and exited the cabin. They stepped carefully along the path that ran next to the lake, casually and happily. Lily was surprised at how natural it felt to her.

She glanced up at the sky to see the sun starting to set and the tiniest bits of stars starting to show through. She watched a tiny bird fly along the lake and ripple the water slightly. She was admiring the beauty when Oliver stopped and looked at her with a burning in his eyes.

"Lily," he breathed, dropping his arm from hers, "You're mine tonight." He slid his hand tentatively around her waist and pulled her in close as they continued to walk. Lily felt her cheeks grow warm for the second time that night. She knew he was going to drive her crazy all night.

They reached the large meeting room towards the far side of the lake and Oliver released her to lead her through the door. He was being unusually like a gentleman, though she could hardly say she minded it.

"Ready to play it up?" he asked her curiously once they were inside and could hear the old songs playing in the background.

"Yeah," she nodded, and took his lead to the dance floor.

The room was done up simply, like it should be. It was summer and carefree. The fast song she heard reminded her of the songs her dad would play her from cassette tapes when she was a little kid. Summer memories was the thought that came to mind. As Oliver began to move to the beat, she followed, remembering the cartwheels and lemonade stands and sprinklers that made her summers.

The two danced wildly alongside each other for a few moments. Lily turned to Oliver and watched him pull a move she hoped she'd never see again. She burst into hysterics and looked at him, "Oliver," she began, "You're a terrible dancer."

His smile only grew wider and a mischievous look played on his face. "Maybe I'd be better if you showed me," he said, pulling her close.

Just as he'd done that, the music changed. Lily felt her body go a little stiff as she realized a typical "slow" song was playing. Oliver, too, seemed surprised by this, and a little in the dark about how to react.

Lily stepped to the right just as Oliver stepped to her left. She laughed apologetically at him and tried again, with similar results. The awkward movements continued for a few moments before Lily took the initiative to take a step closer to Oliver, who immediately responded by resting his two hands on the small of her back. Lily flinched, but realized his move and responded by delicately snaking her arms around his neck.

Lily found her fingers at his hairline, and couldn't help but finger the boyish curls that formed there. She felt Oliver pull her closer and smiled to herself, resting her head along the crook of his neck down to his chest. She was several inches shorter than him, but played it flawlessly to her advantage.

Oliver bent his head low, and she felt his warm breath on her ear. He began humming the song softly to her, making her breath in deeply through her nose, inhaling his smell, and letting her eyes flutter shut. It was just the low vibration of his voice, but it was making her unbelievably flustered.

The lyrics paused as a musical interlude took over. The strong change in the song gave Lily the confidence to pull her hands out from around his neck and slide them down so they were resting on his chest. He pulled his hands up to the middle of her back so he could press her closer to him. _'Snuggled against him,' _she thought, _'Just what she'd been longing for.' _Lily admired his firm muscles and strength as the pair stepped rhythmically back and forth. By this time, she couldn't even tell whether or not they were moving at all, she was so wrapped up in just being close to him.

It felt so good. She felt a tingling go down her spine. Oliver spiraled his fingers through her curls and rested his head atop hers. It turned her on completely, and she felt incredibly dirty, doing nothing but standing near him.

They were so lost in each other, they barely realized the song had switched, and it wasn't until a strong drum solo in the next that their swaying stopped and they pulled away, flushed and looking completely embarrassed.

Oliver smiled meekly down at her, "Punch?"

"Sure," she said shyly, and sat down along the side of the meeting room, trying to gain control of her emotions. Had her best friends of thirteen years really just done _that_ to her? How would she ever handle being near him again?

Oliver came back with their drinks in a minute or so. They enjoyed them along the side before tossing the empty cups and getting back on the dance floor.

Xxx...xxX

Lily lay next to Oliver in the grass, both spread out under and staring up at the stars. Lily could count all eight words he'd said to her that night. She didn't mind the silence, though. It was peaceful, even if it was leaving her plenty of time to let her thoughts run wild.

She scooted towards him and switched positions so that her head lay on his stomach, each still facing up. She felt his chest move up and down and let her breathing quickly fall into rhythm with his.

She felt a gentle breeze from the lake and turned her head to watch it. Oliver moved his hands and placed them tenderly on her shoulders, rubbing them gentle. Lily had no idea how long they'd been there, but she didn't really feel the need to move.

After a few more minutes, she felt Oliver shift beneath her and sat up to allow him to move. She watched as he stood gently from his position and held a hand out to help her up. She obliged, and, within an instant, was standing face-to-face with him.

"Lily," he bent his head down and whispered into her ear, "I loved having you here with me. Thank you." He brought his head back up and let his gaze find hers. They stared with intensity at each other just long enough for Lily to realize that his head might be getting a little closer to hers. Her butterflies returned and she let her eyes shut with ease. She breathed deeply in anticipation.

"Lily!" a high voice shrilled from the background.

Lily pulled away instantly, her eyes flashing open. "Katie!?" she said shocked. She searched around in the dark for a moment until she found the girl who'd called her.

"Ready to head back to the cabin?" she asked and moved a little closer towards them. "Oh! Oliver! I didn't see you there! Sorry!"

"Don't worry about it. We were just finishing up.", he said, pulling Lily into a tight embrace. "Thanks for coming with me, Lily-pad," he told her casually, and she nodded against him. She let him go reluctantly and linked arms with Katie before heading back across the lake.

**A/N: Chapter 7 complete! Thoughts? This was pretty fun to write, but probably came off as pretty cheesy. Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading it. Updates will be a little slower now that we're in a new semester, so sorry for any upcoming waits. Please review!**


	8. Anything She Might Regret

**A/N: Hey readers! Sorry for the short wait. Second semester has started off at a pretty quick pace, so I've only been getting a few minutes here and there for writing. Anyway, chapter 8! Lily and Oliver were left in a pretty interesting situation last time. What can they make of it? Was it the breakthrough they've been waiting for? Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: **Although you'll find the word "Hannah" written in this chapter exactly one time, and the word "Montana" written no times at all, it is still entirely necessary for me to inform you that I have no connections to anything Hannah Montana related, and cannot make money from this fic, despite the fact that I could easily be writing about just about any two random kids with non-Disney names living the exact same story, and it would remain just as good or bad as it is RIGHT NOW.

Chapter 8: Anything She Might Regret

Lily waved furiously out her bus window at the other girls, still on the ground with their luggage. She'd gotten a few email addresses and promised to keep in touch, so she didn't mind too much now that she was leaving Camp Myers and Fitch.

She whipped her head around, her ponytail smacking against her back with the momentum, to look at Oliver, "Don't you want to say goodbye to anyone?" she asked, turning again and pulling down the window before shouting out a few last "I'll miss you's" and "Bye!s"

"Naw, I'm all right," he started to say before looking down at his lap and quietly telling her, "I didn't hang out with too many of the other guys. I was a little uh, preoccupied."

"Oh," she mouthed, dropping the subject and staring ahead of her. The silence was interrupted by the low rumble of the bus engine and the shifting of gears. A gentle pushing feeling, and the two were on their way back to Maine.

Oliver took the initiative to break the near-silence with a question, "What'd you think?"

"What do you mean," Lily turned to see him.

"The camp," he said, "Did you have fun?"

She sat for a moment, as if considering the question, tasting it, and letting it role around in her mouth a bit before making up her mind, "Yeah," she said. "I'm glad we went." A faint pink fell over her cheeks as she smiled to herself.

"Me too." Oliver whispered, with similar results.

Lily lay her head on his shoulder and drifted to sleep, breathing in his rhythm and rocking gently with the movement of the bus.

Xxx...xxX

When she opened her eyes a little later, Lily sensed something different about her surroundings. She glanced outside to realize that she was now in a different state, but that didn't satisfy her. Something else was wrong. She pulled her cheek off the cold window. It was raining out, but that wasn't it either.

She looked over at Oliver, asleep with his legs stretched out to the chair across the aisle. He looked a little bothered, too. The happiness of Camp Myers and Fitch seemed to have worn off over the ride home.

"Oliver," she whispered, keeping her distance from him. "Oliver!'

He shifted slightly. "What is it?" he almost snapped before realizing who was calling him. "Oh, hi Lily," he said a little softer, averting his eyes from hers, "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," she mumbled. Oliver was fidgeting. Did he recognize the awkward feeling, too? "I just wanted to see if you were up."

"Yeah, I am." _'Well that was blunt...'_ she thought to herself, _'I can see that for myself.'_

Lily pulled out a book and Oliver, some handheld game. A tension hung so thick in the air Lily swore she'd be able to reach out and grab it, or that it'd still be sticking too her long after the bus ride.

She glanced at her watch, 11:41, and back down to her book. She found herself reading the same sentence for about the twelfth time. Frustrated, she managed to keep focus for a few more lines, though she couldn't remember a word of it once she'd looked up again to check her watch, 11:43.

After what felt like an eternity, she saw a familiar brick library and felt the bus turning into a small parking lot, where cars and parents sat patiently for their teens.

The two slid out of their seat, and Lily stepped back to the seat behind her to grab her luggage. Oliver had done something of the sort, and the two bumped into each other trying to exit the bus.

"Sorry!" Lily squeaked much higher and louder than she had intended. Oliver was silent. They trudged off the bus.

The sunlight was blinding after being in closed in by tinted windows and rain for a few hours. It took them a minute to let their eyes focus and find Oliver's grandmother's car. They spotted it and slowly dragged their feet to it.

"Oliver! Lily!" the old woman shouted, grasping the pair in a tight hug. They stood stiffly in her arms, but she seemed not to notice and invited them both to store their bags in the trunk before pushing them inside the car.

Lily was hurt to see Oliver climb into the front seat instead of keeping her company in the back, but at the same time relieved that she wouldn't be pressured to look at him.

The car started and they began to head down Shore Road. "How was the trip?" Oliver's grandmother broke tension like a hammer. Yes, she shattered it, or perhaps ignored it all together.

"Good," Oliver threw in from the front seat, letting his eyes meet Lily's briefly through the rear-view mirror. She glanced up at them just in time for him to look away.

"Did you have fun?"

"Yep."

"Glad to be back in Maine?"

"Yep." Oliver said without second thought. Lily was unsure.

Xxx...xxX

"How's Oliver been?" Miley asked, her voice crackling a bit over Lily's cell phone.

Lily rolled onto her stomach on her bed. She'd been back in Maine for two or three days now, and considered the question for a few minutes before giving an answer. Things between her and Oliver were still on edge, and before that, "heated" would have been an understatement. "Fine," she replied simply, rolling her eyes on her end of the line, "You know. Oliver's just Oliver."

"Yeah," Miley said weakly through the phone. "Anyway, I've been having a lot of fun with this Hannah tour. Vancouver has turned out to be a lot cooler than I thought it would be." Lily stopped listening to Miley's rambling with the sound of footsteps outside her door. "Oh! And I did meet this one guy in a coffee shop the other day," she continued. Lily heard the footsteps reach the stairs and the front door slam.

"Listen, Miley?" Lily suddenly sat up on her bed and slid on her flip flops.

"Yeah?"

"I gotta go. I think Oliver just left." She walked quickly towards her door.

"Oliver left? What do you -" Miley started, but Lily was already running down the stairs and outside. Flipping her phone shut and pushing it into the front pocket of her hoodie, she sprinted around the side of the house to where her bike was, and to where she could get a better view of the street. She saw a mop-haired boy peddling quickly down the hill. _'Where is he going in such a hurry?' _her thoughts raced with possibilities, _'Secretive all this time, and now disappearing without telling me?' _

She kicked one leg over the seat of her bike and began peddling after him. She felt her hair push back off her face as she soared down the hill, Oliver with less and less of a lead on her. Her eyes narrowed as he turned swiftly into the lot bordering their beach, and she followed suit. Oliver felt her presence and turned his head quickly on his shoulders to see if she was actually there. His thoughts confirmed, he stopped pedaling and dropped his bike in the sand.

"What is it?" He turned to her and said. She put a food down and hopped off her bike, seeing a kind of sadness in his eyes.

"I -" Lily suddenly felt very awkward being there. Why had she followed him again? She couldn't remember. "I wanted to see where you were going," she finally remembered.

"Why?" Oliver looked intently at her.

"Well, I don't know Oliver, gosh," she was getting overly frustrated and wished she'd just stayed home, "We're just out here together, and I thought you'd tell me before you went dashing off on your bike."

Oliver sighed. "Things have just been -"

"Awkward," Lily finished.

"Yeah. I wanted to make it up to you. I though if I showed you my place, we might be able to fix whatever went wrong. I was coming down here to fix it up; check on it. You know. I haven't been up there since last summer anyway." He began to walk down the beach and Lily followed him cautiously.

"Fix whatever went wrong? Oliver, what went wrong?" Lily knew the answer, but tried nonetheless to pull it out of him.

"I thought -" he began, breathing deep and looking up at the sky so he wouldn't have to see her reaction, "I thought we had something going there up at the camp."

Lily had known it, but when the words had escaped his mouth, something suddenly felt wrong about it. Maybe this wasn't what she wanted. Maybe she was just fooling herself with some summer love. It had been a while since she'd been around any other guys, anyway.

"Oliver," she breathed, trying to stop him.

"Wait. Lily, I -" he tried again, as if wanting to express something to her without knowing the words to do so. She watched him clench his fist and look her straight in the eyes. She couldn't read him, but she thought she knew anyway. "Oh screw it," he mumbled, and she was about to laugh with nervousness, but something interrupted her.

A hand on her cheek and a face much closer to hers than she had remembered it being a moment before. He stared at her so hard she thought he could read every thought running through her head, but she couldn't pull away, she was so caught up in it. Then she felt a wary pair of lips on her own, softly at first, but when she found herself respond as if she had no control over it, he deepened the kiss. His other arm snaked around her waist and her hands fell automatically at the nape of his neck.

In a moment Lily realized what was happening, screaming at herself, and pushing lightly on Oliver's chest, removing her lips from his.

"Lily," he breathed, "Lily, I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Ollie," she said, giggling nervously and watching the sand.

"I just thought," he started.

"I know what you thought," Lily tried to interrupt, but was ignored.

"I don't even know what I was thinking."

"Yeah," she sighed, "Me either."

Oliver raked a hand hesitantly through his hair and looked out at the water, "You want to, uh -"

"Forget this ever happened?" Lily chimed in, looking up at him hopefully, not sure if what she was saying was what she was feeling anymore.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

The two looked nervously around at the beach, each one easily fascinated by the shells and cloud patterns briefly, each blushing furiously. Lily questioned herself, _'Get your emotions straight, girl! A day ago you couldn't wait for this, but it finally happens and you can't even decide if you like it or not!'_ she was furious with herself for not being able to control her hormones.

After what seemed like an eternity to the two rigid-standing teens, Oliver looked up at her questioningly, "Friends?"

"Yeah," she smiled at him. "Definitely friends."

He threw an arm around her shoulder and walked her over to their dropped bikes. Lily tried her best to ignore the hand resting lightly above her collarbone.

The two of them mounted their bikes and began slowly down the road, leaving their uncomfortable encounter farther behind them with each turn of the wheels.

Lily thought to herself as she watched the boy in front of her. She'd have to vow off Oliver for the rest of the summer. She couldn't get her feelings straight for him, she'd just have to ignore them. After all, she didn't want to do anything she might regret.

**A/N: Are you all very sad now? No worries, this is Loliver, after all. How was this chapter? I personally didn't think it was too good. Sorry that it wasn't very long, also. The final few chapters will be coming out **_**very soon**_**, but only if you review! Haha. Thanks for reading!**


	9. If You Want It to Be

**A/N: Hello readers! Chapter nine is up! Just friends? We'll see. This chapter is going to be the second to last, just so you know. This story is coming to an end. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hannah Montana. Hannah Montana doesn't own me either. Weird, right?

Chapter 9: If You Want It to Be

"Lily?" she heard a whisper break the boundaries of her dream, "Lily?"

Lily's eyes shot open. Who was on her bed? She flung her hand out to shoo any person who might be disturbing her.

"Ouch!" a low moan came from behind her. She rolled over into a new position and blinked a few times.

"Oliver?" she squinted to make sure her sleep-filled eyes were seeing right, "I'm sorry I hit you. I- I wasn't sure who was here." She reached out to pat his arm, but missed. _'Huh?'_ her mind wasn't connecting something, _'Is it still dark?'_ "Oliver? Why are you waking me up in the middle of the night?"

Oliver grinned and moved to sit cross-legged next to Lily. "What do you say to a visit to a very secret, very special Oken hideout?"

"Now?" Lily groaned, realizing what he was talking about and scooting up on her bed so her head lay against the headboard, not the pillow.

"It's better now. Trust me," he said, slipping off the bed silently to the floor. Her eyes followed him as he walked around to her side of the bed and held out a hand to help her out. She obliged and took his hand, crawling slowly from her covers, shivering.

"Cold?" he asked her, pulling her from behind into a hug, so the backs of her shoulders rested on his chest. She melted into him and relished the warmth, glad that he'd taken the initiative to do that. _'Lily,' _she scolded herself mentally, _'You can't. Not after- well, after- '_

Her thoughts stopped there as she slid from his grasp lightly, upset by the cold she felt encase her body. She tiptoed along the floor towards her dresser, pulling out a change of something warmer to wear. She simultaneously shoved the drawer shut and began to pull down the boxer shorts she'd been sleeping in.

"Uhm, Lily?" Oliver squeaked, as if to make her remember he was still standing in the room. He coughed a bit, uncomfortable.

"Oh Oliver, would you calm down?" She laughed to herself, "You've seen me a bathing suit. I've known you since before I was even _wearing_ underwear. I think you'll be okay if I change here in the dark," She slid on a pair of sweat pants and turned her back to Oliver to pull of the T-shirt she was wearing.

Oliver was suddenly very appreciative of the darkness as his cheeks blushed furiously. He glanced quickly to reassure himself that she was almost done, and it would be safe for his hormones to have open access to her again.

"Oh, shoot," Lily said, fiddling with what piece of clothing she had in her hands, "I grabbed the wrong shirt."

To Oliver's dismay, she turned on the spot and walked back to the dresser, leaning over it in her half-dressed state, searching for a different piece, now facing in his direction. He gulped and tried to stare intently at his feet, but unfortunately, he quickly found her feet, and, being sixteen, physically had no choice but to follow those feet up her thin legs, to where the clothing stopped.

His eyes wandered her tight stomach curiously, then his eyes moved north. His whole body tensed as he gazed upon her, covered only by a small green-striped bra. If only he'd known how satisfying his trip to Lily's room was going to be when he was planning their excursion before.

As his eyes searched curiously along the pattern of her bra, he suddenly shut his eyes and turned the other direction. _'Oliver! You pervert! Your best friend is changing her stupid clothing, and you can't help but take advantage of her?'_ he scoffed at himself.

"Is there a problem?" Lily asked, putting a hand on his back.

Oliver didn't turn around. "Are you dressed?" he asked weakly, opening one eye.

Lily giggled, "Yeah, I'm dressed," before removing her hand.

Oliver turned to her and smiled, "Let's go!"

He grabbed hold of her hand and silently ran her from the bedroom down to the front door. He stopped and turned to her, placing a finger over his lips to indicate silence, as if she didn't know already to be quiet, then lay a hand on the knob and pulled.

Xxx...xxX

"Oliver!" Lily howled at him, "Let me open my eyes!" She was wrapped securely around his back in a piggy-back style, since he'd insisted she not be allowed to see where they were going, but the area was too dangerous for her to be walking around on blind. She kicked at him mercilessly, but laughed and tightened her grip around his neck.

"Hold on, Lils. We're almost there," he lectured, but all she knew was the light bouncing of Oliver's feet along what could only have sand, since they'd left their bikes not far from the coast.

"There," he breathed, setting her down gently, "Open your eyes."

Lily did as she was instructed and blinked again. It was dark in the first place, but when Lily looked around, all she saw was the entrance to a cavern. She could hear that water rushed through it but saw a thin sandy path run inside as well.

"Oliver-" she started to say, a questioning look filling her face.

"Shh," he quieted her, pulling out a small light from his back pocket and shining it down the cave. "We're not there yet, but follow me, okay?"

"Oliver, where are we going?" she questioned him.

"Trust me, okay? I know where I'm doing, Lily-pad. Will you come?" he looked at her intently, wanting to know if she was comfortable.

She nodded and smiled, taking hold of his hand. "Let's go," she whispered.

Oliver lead her slowly into the dark cavern, one hand on hers, one out around his light, shining ahead of them. Lily watched around her. She was walking on dirt now, and they were moving away from the rushing water of the cavern. The walls were stone and mossy. She felt a clammy feeling in the air. Everything was cold and damp.

The walk was silent, leaving each to their thoughts. Lily felt herself moving closer to Oliver, who responded easily by snaking an arm around her waist. _'You're too close to him, Lily,'_ her head started telling her after only a moment of the new closeness. _'You can't let your feelings get the best of you. You're only going to get hurt.'_ but her heart was aching, and it was all she could do to follow it. _'Shove it, head,'_ she laughed to herself, draping her own arm around Oliver's shoulder.

It was ages later when Oliver spoke up, and Lily could now feel her body recognizing its lack of sleep. She thought to herself that it was like one of those days you stayed up too late doing homework, and you wake up feeling okay, but by third period you can't keep your eyes open. "We're almost there, Lily," Oliver's words surprised her. They seemed loud and echoing in the passage.

She felt his arm leave her waist, but she compensated by placing too hands on Oliver's shoulder and peering over at his work from behind it. She watched as he shown the light on something he was grasping ahead of him. She gasped. It was a metal door.

"Oliver?"

"Wait," he looked over his shoulder at her and smiled mischievously. "Stand back."

Lily did as she was told, her heart pounding in the anxiety of the moment. She couldn't seem to wait. Her whole body screamed in excitement. With one quick pull and the high screech of metal on stone, the door inched open. Lily had yet to lay a hand on it, but it seemed incredibly heavy.

Oliver backed up against the door and shone a light inside, motioning with his hand for her to enter. As she did, he followed.

It wasn't until the door was fully shut and Oliver was shining his flashlight in a slow circle around her that she realized she was in a room.

"Is this some kind of safe?" she asked, curiously. She was completely confused.

"Not quite," he told her and took a few cautious steps forward. "Want to see more?"

"I think so," she said, assuring even herself, and nodded lightly.

She followed him gingerly and was surprised to find herself confronted with something metal. "Hold on to me," she heard a low voice call from in front of her, and she promptly wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.

Looking up, she suddenly realized they had reached a staircase; long and narrow. She guessed it must reach up at least two stories, all spiraling.

_Clink, clink, clink, clink._ The sound was apparent. Each step with a gentle thud of sandals on metal was one moment closer to the top. Lily imagined a clock, where each step she took around the staircase was the hand moving that much closer to midnight, which it was well passed, she knew.

Lily could tell when they'd reached the top. There was a gentle cast of moonlight shining down at her, the first she'd seen since abandoning her bike back on the beach. Had they reached the surface? Were they ever really underground to begin with? A thousand questions ran through Lily's mind as she stepped from the final stair onto something much more solid feeling. A tall Oliver blocked her view of what was ahead of her.

"Ready?" came the voice of the boy in front of her.

"Mmhm" she mumbled, not wanting to waste time with words.

He stepped from his position. Lily's eyes ran furiously across the scene ahead of her, but it wasn't something she recognized. This wasn't something she was used to seeing. Then she gasped, realizing what lay before her.

Moonlight shone through the glass windows, lined in even panes in a circle around her. A metal fence ran an inner circle at the center of the small room, encasing a machine Lily could only identify as an old light. She gasped, knowing she was standing in the watch room of an abandoned lighthouse.

"Oliver-" Lily breathed, but she barely heard it herself. She ran to the pane and looked out over the water below her, crashing around a rocky island barely bigger than the base of the structure. Though inside, she breathed deep, trying to capture the salty sea smell, but only winding up with a nose full of years-old dust. Coughing, she turned and beamed up at Oliver helplessly.

He walked to her, letting her throw her arms around his middle and patting her back gently as she finished coughing. "What do you think?" he whispered in her ear in a low tone.

"It's-" She started, unsure of how to describe it, "It's magical, Oliver. It's amazing." She let go and threw her arms up into the air and spun whimsically on her toes. "I love it, Oliver," she walked back to Oliver and placed her hands evenly just above his chest, "I love it."

"I'm glad," he told her very matter-of-factly, beaming down at her. He pulled her into him and breather in deeply.

'_This feels so right,'_ she told herself and snuggled farther into him. In an instant she realized. "Oliver?" a meek voice sounded from below him. He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "I love _you_," she whispered.

He dropped his hands from her and she followed suit. They stood, face to face, staring unknowingly at one another. "_It's_ you," he breathed, hoping whatever was coming from his lips was all right, since he seemed to have lost all control of his body.

Oliver reached in and kissed her tenderly, placing one hand gingerly on the small of her back. Something was different this time, and each felt it. Lily stepped closer, and they seemed to stand there, lost with each other, for an eternity.

Oliver backed Lily up, trying to prop her against something to make their prolonged kiss more comfortable for each, since neither had any plans for ending it soon. Lily felt herself pressed up against a button of some sort, and in an instant a white light was rotating within the room, glowing along each of them before passing to illuminate the sea around them.

They broke apart, and Oliver stepped back. Lily's eyes were glittering, and she couldn't seem to wipe a youthful grin off her face. He had never seen her looking so beautiful. She looked up, looked around. She couldn't take in enough of the sight around her. A clear night, watching the twisting beams make even brighter stars beyond the panes of the lighthouse.

"How'd you find it? How'd you know?" her eyes shot to him in a moment.

"Lily," he pleaded, coming closer to her and embracing her, "I know you. And as for this place, I stumbled across it a few years back."

"_What _is it?" she asked, still not fully believing what was going on. She felt Oliver take her from the waist and sit down against the window with him.

"It's the old ledge light on Ram Island. We're just in Casco Bay, Lils," he reassured her and continued. "This place used to be used all the time, but when they built the new lighthouse, it was abandoned. It's ancient, practically."

Lily could feel from leaning on his chest that he was laughing to himself, satisfied.

"It's ours," she whispered to him, excited.

"If you want it to be," he answered.

"I do."

"Then it is. I'd give you anything if I had the chance, Lils."

She turned in his arms at was kissing him before he'd realized it. It would take some time getting used to, this kissing Lily.

And suddenly he was leaned back and she was sitting on her knees, on top of him, pushing hard against him. Her aggression took him by surprise, but he'd be far past lying if he'd said he wasn't enjoying it.

He took the initiative to reposition the two, pulling Lily up with him. He felt their situation grow warmer as he pressed himself as close to her as he could manage. Her hands reached his chest and his, her back. He ran his tongue carefully along her bottom lip, and without a moment of hesitation her mouth was open, willing. He'd never imagined making out with his best friend _here_, or all places, or any place for that matter, but here they were, and he couldn't help but make the most of it.

Lily couldn't believe herself when she was suddenly grasping the hemline of his shirt. _'What am I doing?'_ she nearly screamed at herself, but was quickly silenced by a mesmerizing trick Oliver pulled with his tongue. She felt her hands pull up, and Oliver released her just long enough to help her pull the shirt over his arms and head. As his hands returned to encase her, she ran hers along the strong muscles of his chest. A finger swirled around his bellybutton, making him jolt a bit.

But it only caught his attention enough to give him the courage to reach for the buttons on her shirt. He carefully undid each one, his fingers moving gracefully down its front. Lily felt every touch. She knew she'd remember each finger on her body forever.

Oliver was too impatient to slip the shirt off of her, and simply pulled his mouth from Lily's gently, beginning to trail a line of kisses down her jaw line, her neck. He blinked at her collarbone, tickling her and making her shudder. He reached his hand up to the same bra he'd been admiring earlier that night, but knowing now it was his if he wanted it to be. He took a finger cautiously and ran it slowly along the bottom line of the bra, just grazing the ridge that began her breasts. Lily let a low moan escape her lips.

In an instant the two were standing apart, looking shocked that they'd just gone far enough to emit _that _kind of a sound, evoking _those _kinds of feelings.

"Oliver?" Lily was breathing hard, and the sound that came from her was tight and uncomfortable.

"Yeah, uhm, Lily?" he stepped back a bit. "What is it?"

"I just, uhm-" she tried to tell him what she was thinking, but her cheeks were burning red, and she seemed unwilling to look him in the eye. "I just think that maybe we- "

"Should stop?" he tried to help her.

"Yeah, you know. Before we- uhm, can't." When she'd finally said it, she began laughing, and Oliver joined in. Neither could seem to contain his or herself. Lily giggled as she began to rebutton her blouse, and Oliver began searching for his search.

"I can't imagine having to explain to Miley all that we did in an abandoned lighthouse off the coast of Maine," he told her, pushing a button that caused the rotating light to stop.

Lily stopped and looked at him. "I don't really want her to know. This time is ours. It should always be. She'll find out enough when she needs to."

Oliver smiled at her and nodded, understanding perfectly and agreeing. "Ready?" he held out his hand, ready to guide her back through the darkness to their comfortable beds. He reconsidered. He was ready, and willing, to guide her through anything. He cleared his voice a moment and spoke alongside her, "Lily, it will _always_ be you."

**A/N: And Chapter 9 comes to a close. I hope you enjoyed it. It was pretty long. Not too bad, I don't think. Anyway, coming up is the final chapter. Should be very soon. Thanks so much for reading, and please review!**


	10. Different Back Home

**A/N: I know, I know, I'm a liar. This didn't come out when I told you it would, but I'm not too late. Anyway, last chapter! I hope you're excited. I had to do a lot of reading over to make sure it worked. I think I've got it how I want it, now. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer:**In conclusion, I'd like to tell you that all the previous disclaimers were lies. I actually _do_ own Hannah Montana. Shocked, aren't you? Not nearly as shocked as you will be when I tell you this: Just kidding! Hehe...This is why I'm not allowed to write disclaimers.

Chapter 10: Different Back Home

Lily packed her suitcase into Grandma Oken's Cadillac trunk. It was two weeks ago, but she couldn't seem to get that first spark between her and Oliver out of her head. It was just too good to be true. She laughed to herself, remembering the next morning.

Xxx...xxX

_Lily poked a fork into a fried egg, blushing to herself over the previous night's events. Oliver was sitting in the chair just next to hers, scooted closer than usual, which his grandmother had definitely made note of. She felt the occasional brush of his arm against hers and the heat radiating from his body. She was intoxicated with it._

_Each looked exhausted. She had to say, it wasn't like they'd gotten much sleep. It was a good hour after they left the lighthouse that they were actually sneaking back into the house and into bed._

_There was a gentle clinking sound as Mrs. Oken lay a fruit spoon down in her bowl. "So," she looked up from her newspaper, "It seems the old ledge light was up and running last night. How unusual. I don't think that's been running for decades."_

_Oliver dropped his napkin, and Lily choked a little on the orange juice she had tried to swallow. "What?" Oliver asked weakly._

_Lily tried to seem innocent, "The old ledge light? What's that?"_

"_Oh, hadn't you heard?" Grandma Oken looked suspiciously at the two of them, though a grin was unmistakable, "Portland's Casco bay used to be lit by the old Ram Island Ledge Light, but it was wrecked in a storm, and it was getting old anyway, so they built to the new lighthouse on the coast. But that was ages ago-" she trailed off._

_Oliver looked up smartly, hiding his embarrassment, "Was it stormy last night? Maybe something else caused the lighthouse to turn on."_

"_No, no. It couldn't be," his grandmother picked up her dishes and brought them to the sink to wash them, "The only way to turn that light on is on the inside. There must be a button or something._

_Lily flinched and looked rather uncomfortable, Oliver noted, "A button?" she murmured._

"_Yes. Someone must have been up there last night," the faucet was turned on and she began scrubbing at her breakfast dishes. "But that doesn't matter now. Tell me, what do you two plan on doing today?" she smiled to herself and pulled a dish towel to dry her bowl._

_Oliver took a moment to reconsider the circumstance and cleared his throat. "I think we were going to head up to the library and the café along Shore. What do you think, Lils?"_

"_Sounds good," she smiled, relieved at the release of the previous topic, and stood to take her dishes to the sink._

Xxx...xxX

Lily slammed the trunk shut and traced the outside of the car back to her door, opening it and slipping inside.

"Do you have everything?" Oliver asked her as she buckled her seatbelt and his grandmother began to pull out of her driveway.

"I think so," she reassured him, rethinking through everything she'd brought with her. She watched out her window, eyes growing glassy as they drove, passing by all the places she'd spent the last four weeks. She'd had a fantastic summer, spending all her time at Oliver's side. She thought back a week or so ago, reminiscing.

Xxx...xxX

"_Oliver!" Lily called out, her feet pounding quickly below her over the roots of the forest. _

"_You're gunna have to catch me!" he shouted back to her, ten or twelve meters ahead and growing. He had said he'd wanted to show her the woods out behind the house, but she hadn't prepared for something quite so exciting._

_She pulled herself up over the top of a fallen tree across her path and continued to sprint after him. Having lost track of him, she stopped, looking around to find where he was running now, but there was no more crunching of leaves or pounding of tennis shoes._

"_Ooooliiiiveeeeeer," she called out, teasing, 'Where did you goooo?" She crouched down, peering out from behind a wide tree trunk._

_Two hands suddenly resting on her shoulders, she jumped, screeching and twirling around._

"_Oliver!" she shouted as he grabbed her hand and pulled her farther along the path._

"_We're almost there!" he panted, dragging her wildly behind him._

_In a moment Lily found herself bumping into Oliver, who'd stopped where he was. "What?" she questioned, sarcastically, "I don't see anything."_

"_Look harder," he told her, something flashing in his eyes through the words._

_She did as she was told, searching the area around her. Finally her eyes fell on a dark hole. A cave, she figured, with the tip of it sticking out from the dirt. It couldn't have risen more than two feet._

"_You want me to get in _there_?" she raised an eyebrow at him, "What's so special about a cave?_"

"_Nothing, really," he told her, holding out a hand to help her crouch down into it, "I just like it. But isn't it cool? Wait until you get down in it," he reassured her as he pulled out a flashlight._

_Lily crouched as low as she was able and slid cautiously into the hole. Just as she found her footing, a second body crawl into the hole and land on top of her. She tumbled to the ground so all she could see was Oliver's large head blocking a few small holes along the cave roof that let in gentle light._

_Oliver groaned and looked down at her. They really were in a pretty awkward position, "Sorry," he let out._

"_Get off of me, you perv," she laughed at him and mocked pushing him off in disgust._

_But Oliver held still. Clearly he'd thought of something, Lily realized. "No," he told her, quite straight-forward._

"_What?" Lily was surprised to say the least. What was he thinking?_

_But then she knew, as Oliver shifted over her so that his hands rested on the ground on either side of her face. He stroked her cheek gently before pushing the hair off her face and diving in for a kiss in one rough swipe._

_Lily gasped into his lips, which she felt him smile about. He continued hungrily, and Lily couldn't help but oblige. She took control and flipped him gently over, so he was lying on the ground. She lay flat against him and pulled her lips away, smiling down at the disappointed face beneath her._

"_Enjoying yourself?" she breathed._

"_Mmhm," came a satisfied Oliver, "Can we continue, now?"_

"_No."_

"_Hey," he laughed and squirmed beneath her, "That was my line."_

_Lily giggled and shook her head. She opened her mouth to protest, but Oliver swung his arms around her waist, managing to both turn her so her back was facing his, and fix them both on their sides in one easy swoop._

_Oliver pulled her close against him and breathed a gentle "Lily" into her ear._

_She blushed, "Spooning in a dark cave, Oliver Oken? Highly inappropriate," she scolded from in front of him._

"_Not saying you don't enjoy it, though, are you?"_

"_No. I said nothing of that sort."_

"_Well then, good."_

Xxx...xxX_  
_

It all seemed very sudden that Lily was standing in line at the airport to board their plane. It didn't seem very long ago that she was sitting on Oliver's front step and he was inviting her along in the first place. She loved being up in Maine with Oliver, and she knew it was all going to be different back in Malibu. No privacy, no adventures, no new locations. They couldn't just run off for the afternoon to do as they pleased.

She handed over her ticket to the flight attendant, who scanned it happily, a smile on her face. Lily considered the smile. It was kind of strange, she thought. Usually you can tell a fake smile, but these women had it down. She was pretty convinced, anyway. Were they always genuinely happy?

She stepped forward to meet Oliver at the entrance to the "tube", as he'd told her it was called many times. _'You know,'_ he'd said, _'that long tunnel that's always cold no matter what the weather that you have to walk through to get to your plane.'_ She laughed to herself at his blunt style

When she reached him, he looked her very seriously in the eyes. She met his gaze and waited while he looked out into the airport once or twice, then back down the tunnel that awaited them, "Ready?" he asked her solemnly.

She studied his face carefully, tracing the wrinkle between his eyebrows down to the tip of his strong jaw line. He was thinking the same thing; she knew it. She nodded back to him, "Goodbye Maine," she sulked as Oliver took hold of her hand and led her to their plane.

A moment later the pair was sitting one next to the other in row 13 of their flight. Lily let her eyes wander to Oliver, who was fiddling with the earphones they'd given out to the passengers in the pocket behind the seat in front of them.

Lily sat still and closed her eyes. Maybe if she made herself extremely bored, the moment wouldn't pass as quickly. She clasped her hands on her lap and began counting seconds, relishing the feeling of Oliver sitting peacefully next to her, so close.

"Oliver?" she spoke only after a moment, remaining still.

"Hm?" he let his eyebrows run together and narrowed his eyes in her direction, concerned.

Lily let her eyes flutter gently open, and she repositioned herself to face him, ready to face her thoughts more than anything. "I'm not ready to leave."

Oliver blinked, relaxing his face muscles in confusion, "What?"

Lily sighed, "I'm not ready to leave," she said again, this time more to herself than anyone else, "I've loved being here. I don't want summer to end."

Oliver understood and reached forward to grasp her hands in his. He let his thumb rub gently over the backs of her clasped hands and opened his mouth to speak, pausing to reassure himself of his coming words, "I guess I'm not ready to go, either."

The pair looked away, suddenly fascinated with the pattern on their seats. Lily breathed deeply before speaking up, "It's going to change-" she began, but was cut off.

"Everything."

"Why does it have to?" she shifted so that she was facing forward and Oliver followed suit. They weren't trying to ignore one another any longer, but Lily found comfort in the fact that she didn't need to watch him to know how he felt. She could hear it in his voice.

"I don't know," he began, but trailed off immediately. "Society," he said as an afterthought.

"They keep us so wound up," Lily took from his words, "School, friends, sports. Everything."

"There's not a moment to spend with you."

"Not once we get back, anyway. We were so carefree here, Oliver."

"I know," he turned to look at her, placing a hand cautiously on her cheek. She felt face flush but continued to watch him. "I felt like I could do anything here, Lily. It's like I could be whoever I wanted to be, because the only person I had to worry about was you. And Lily," he paused, "It's when I'm with you that I'm most myself."

Lily leaned forward and pecked him lightly on the lips before continuing, touched by his intimacy and thoughtfulness, "We can't just run around Malibu having adventures like we ran around Maine," her thought was interrupted.

The pair looked surprised as the engine below them began to rumble. Oliver felt his eyes reach the floor, but shot back up quickly to meet Lily's. "You know that saying; What happens in Maine stays in Maine? Well I guess no one's ever said it about Maine, but it's time now. I wish it didn't have to be true. Why does it have to be different back home?"

Lily sighed, "We can't do it, Oliver. Being with you up here is just going to turn into a boyfriend-girlfriend kind of thing when we get back. I hate to think that I'm living the last of my happiness now."

"But why does it have to be that way, Lils?" Oliver looked frustrated. No, Lily thought, he looked sad. "I don't want it to be, and neither do you, but for some reason it just can't work there like it's worked up here."

"I just don't know Oliver," she started again, but she remembered something suddenly. Oliver watched as her eyes shot up and she stole her hand back from his, only to clasp it firmly around her other, "Oliver! I forgot it!"

Oliver felt his whole body gravitate towards hers at this news, "Forgot what?"

"The picture. You know, you and me! You put it in my suitcase and I put it up on my dresser so that I could always look at it, and I left it there!" Oliver scooted as close to her as their separated seats would allow him to.

"Lily, you don't need to worry about it," he tried, but was interrupted.

"I guess it just looked so good there. Like it belongs there. Our kid selves, our best selves, belong there." she sighed, looking more upset than she had since they'd arrived.

Oliver, who was surprised to find he completely understood the very obvious metaphor she'd just made, spoke up, "Lily, it can stay there, then."

Her eyes narrowed, "What? How could you say that, Oliver? I love that picture!"

"Lily," he quieted her with the soft mention of her name. "We'll go back."

"We will?" she looked up at him with a confused expression, but with his words registering more with the passing moments, her face brightened, "We will."

"Next summer. The summer after that if you want. It doesn't need to end," as Oliver spoke, the engine of the plane sped up and they could from row 13 one could feel the vehicle start to slowly move forward. "The picture can stay. I want to make sure no one can forget that we were there. I don't want to forget what happened there. It can happen all again when we go back."

"But what about now?" Lily asked him, a shimmer in her eyes Oliver knew better than to suspect as tears.

He grasped her hands tightly in his and looked deeply at her, 'We'll just have to try."

The whispers of his last words echoed in Lily's mind, the last words of Maine, as the plane lifted slowly from the ground, traveling forward to something better, bearings set for Malibu. The Maine sun set overhead.

_Xx...Fin_...xX

**A/N: It's over, everyone! What do you think? Did the ending work? If you don't think so, please tell me, because I can always rewrite it. Anyway, thanks a million times over for all the dedication on my very first story! I loved all the response. I hope you'll come back to read more of my stories later. I'm thinking Harry Potter up next. Who doesn't love that kid? Haha. Please Review!**


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